The End of the World Has Its Perks
by Shipper Fanfic Collective
Summary: After Gabrielle leaps into the lava pit and takes Hope with her, Xena, Ares, Hercules, and Joxer join forces to defeat Dahak. Many surprises await. Alternate followup to Sacrifice II. Written as a story train at Xena Online Community Shipper Talk.
1. Chapter 1

**The End of the World Has Its Perks**

**A shipper story train**

**by **

**_Aglaia, Angelares, AreslovesXena (Kelly), Aurora, Deadly Chakram, Delenn, Elfrieda, LadyKate, Secular Atrophy, Xena321, Xenacrazy_**

**_Disclaimer: We do not own the characters, but we like to make them do wacky things from time to time. Especially Xena and Ares . . ._**

**_This story is rated . . . whatever, I hate the MPAA, so whatever. So . . . this story is not yet rated._**

_Gabrielle!!!_

Xenaaaa!

Gabrielle's face was pale and terrified as she clutched Hope, the two of them falling, falling, falling -- the air shimmering with firelight and heavy with sulfur and evil -- and then -- nothing, just the horrible crimson emptiness of the lava pit.

And then, that laugh.  
_  
I never thought I'd feel so good again! Seeing poor, dear Gabrielle sacrifice herself makes it all worthwhile. It finally gives me a reason for living, and I have you to thank for it, Xena!_

That laugh again._ The awful, familiar sound of blade slicing through flesh -- the warmth of blood on her hands -- the low guttural cry --_

No more living for you.  
_  
Callisto crumpling slowly at her feet, hand snaking down her body as if in a caress, or supplication --_

No, not Callisto -- 

Gabrielle.

Xena sat up in her bedroll with a gasp, cold clammy sweat clinging to her skin. Gasping for breath, she looked around wildly. The clearing in the woods. The dead campfire. Argo dozing nearby, tied to a tree.

_A dream. Just a dream._

Except that it was real. Gabrielle's face as she fell clutching Hope --

Xenaaaaa! --  
_  
Callisto's awful laugh --_

She could barely remember the others. That fool Seraphin, sobbing as the realization of what had happened settled in -- Joxer, numb with shock and grief --

And Ares, breathing hard as he rose to his feet, the effects of Callisto's fireball finally worn off -- and disappearing in a burst of blue.  
  
The coward.

Her hand shaking a little, Xena wiped the sweat from her forehead and reached for her water-skin.

Her hand froze at the sound.

The slight rustle of leaves -- the crackle of a dry branch -- that was no animal.

Slowly and carefully, she reached for her sword.

The branches parted and a tall black-clad figure stepped forward. Even before the moonlight fell on his face, she knew who it was -- only she didn't want to know. She had expected anything but that. Anyone but him.

Anger tightened into a knot in her chest. How dare he --

He came closer as she rose to her feet. In the near-dark, she could see the glitter of his eyes.

"Hello, Xena," he said, a strange hollowness in his voice.

She swung and punched him, hard.

He staggered back and nearly fell, clutching at his mouth with a groan.

"Dammit," he said, his voice muffled. "I think you broke a tooth -- "

Wincing, he took his hand away, and she saw blood, almost black in the moonlight, trickling from his lip.

But of course.

"You're mortal."

Ares prodded gingerly at his split lip. "Gee, thanks, Xena. I never would have known. I thought I just woke up one day and decided to go traipsing around this godsforsaken swamp."

The look she gave him made his blood run cold. It was an intensely disturbing experience, one he never wanted to feel again.

"Yes, I'm mortal," he muttered.

"Oh, goody." She drew her sword.

Ares stumbled a few steps backwards, his hands half-raised in a futile effort to fend off any swipes she might take at him.

"Look, Xena. I'm on the outs with Zeus for the whole Dahak misunderstanding. I didn't know you were going to be here, and now I'm going to go this way. I want you to tell the hunters Zeus's got on my tail that I went that way."

"Hunters? Bit extreme even for Zeus."

Ares shrugged. "He was mad."

He stood self-consciously before her in the silence. The hollow whistle of the wind through the leaves around them sounded too loudly. 

"Whatever happens, you deserve it," she hissed and turned away from him. She splashed a handful of cold water from her waterskin onto her face, and when she turned around, he was gone. 

x x x

Xena walked slowly through the undergrowth, her sword in one hand and Argo's lead in the other.

She hadn't slept after Ares made his appearance. The visions. They kept coming.

Gabrielle stretching out a hand to her in mute, terrified supplication, and she stood beside the pit, laughing as she swatted the pale hand away like so much garbage.

_No. No. That's not what happened...  
_  
_But it might as well have,_ a voice taunted. _She's dead because of you._

_It's my fault.  
_  
An anguished yell bubbling from her chest, she hacked wildy at a nearby tree.

"Ahhhhh!" A black shape thudded to the ground before her.

She had her sword on him before he could twitch.

"You again," she said.

Ares waved weakly, his back vehemently protesting.  
"Are you following me now?" Xena asked through clenched teeth. "Or maybe you just want to experience what mortality is really about."

Standing over him, she moved her sword so that it was only inches away from his chest.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on." Ares tried to sweep the sword away from him but Xena held it firmly in place. "Listen, I know you're not real fond of me right now, but—"

"Well, if that's not the understatement of the year..."

"--but I might be able to help you."

Xena let a dry, mirthless laugh escape her lips. "Help me? Like you helped me in the whole Dahak mess? I still didn't get the chance to thank you for that. Besides, look at you. You're in no position to offer anyone help."

Having his shortcomings as a mortal be so blatantly flung in his face, he felt an involuntary pang of humiliation run through him. He hated feeling this way: weak and defenseless, and at her mercy. Dully, Ares realized why these feelings disconcerted him so much: they reminded him all too well of how he felt during his interactions with Dahak. Being forced to yield to a greater power and to do his bidding was not something he was accustomed to, but being made to feel like a slave thoroughly revolted him. He shuddered at the memory.

_But it's not as if he had a choice then. He had to look out for himself---had to ensure his survival. Siding with Dahak, against his family, would have provided him with an opportunity to come out on top._

And look at him now. Pathetic.  
  
"Would you at least hear me out?" he asked, a little quieter.

Ares could see the struggle waging in her crystal blue eyes. He held his breath.

Finally, reluctantly, Xena drew the sword away from him and took a step back.

Ares slowly sat up, brushing away dead leaves and twigs from his vest, and felt a sudden twinge of pain shoot up his spine. Some things he was not going to get used to. He winced slightly and trying desperately to hold on to whatever shred of dignity he still possessed, unsteadily got up on his feet.

"How you mortals deal with all these painful hassles on a daily basis, I will never understand," he smirked, trying to lighten the mood. 

Xena stood there, unamused; her eyes, dark and accusing, boring into him. That, coupled with her silence, unnerved him more than he cared to admit.

At that moment, he wished that the earth would split open and swallow him whole; anything to escape her scrutinizing glare. How was he going to explain to her the reasons for his recent actions? And would he really be able to offer her any help?

The awkward silence dragged on.

He was eying her warily and Xena thought she detected a flash of fear run across his rugged features. That should have given her a certain satisfaction, but no—all she felt was dull pain. The sting of his betrayal lingered in her mind and she briefly wondered why she didn't just kill him. He certainly deserved it. Gabrielle was gone and it was all his fault.

_Was it, really?_ The taunting voice was back. _And you're all innocent in this?_

She tried to suppress the thought but it persistently invaded her mind, demanding to be acknowledged.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"All right, Ares," she said, careful not to betray any emotion. "I'm listening."  
Ares breathed a sigh of relief and then stared at Xena, as if mustering the courage to speak.

Then he blurted out, "She's alive."

Xena's heart stopped for a moment, then raced so wildly that her chest hurt. Steady. Steady. She wasn't going to let him throw her off-balance --

"Hope?" she asked through clenched teeth.

He shook his head. "No. Your frie-"

In an instant her hand was at his throat and his back was slammed into a tree, knocking the breath out of him.

"You bastard," she spat out. "Don't mess with my head."

He gasped for breath. "Why would I mess with your head?"

Until that moment, he had never fully realized what the expression "If looks could kill" really meant.

"All right, all right," he croaked, "I admit that I've given you reason to -- to think so -- but --" he coughed. "Dammit, Xena -- you're choking me!"

She let go and stepped back. Ares gasped and coughed again. Breathing hurt. Mortality was pathetic.

"You're saying Gabrielle is alive." She managed to keep her voice steady but she wanted to cry with joy. It was true. It had to be true.

"Yes." He looked away uncomfortably. "Hope -- " He sighed. "She's probably alive too. That's the other thing... But Gabrielle -- yeah." Reluctantly, his eyes met hers. "I know for sure."

"How?"

Ares turned away again. "I … well -- after … after it was all over, I came to the Halls of War … to see if I could find out what happened to Hope."

_Hope._ From what seemed like ages ago, her own voice came back to her: _Hope is pregnant with your child._ She pursed her lips in disgust.

"Why?"

Ares was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was harsh, with a note of desperate defiance. "Because I wanted to make sure she was dead, dammit. Her and that -- thing she's carrying."

Xena nodded. "So you went back there."

Ares nodded nervously. "I -- look…"

He paused, searching for words, and then it hit her.

"You got her out," she gasped.

He nodded, looking both sheepish and relieved.

"She somehow got thrown into a niche in the wall. I found her there." 

Xena narrowed her eyes at the former god. "And you saved her? Why?"

He squirmed visibly. _Could it be that he had wanted to save Gabrielle for her … to make up for what he had done? No, it couldn't be … how stupid of her to even think he could have a conscience. . No doubt he had wanted to use Gabrielle as a bargaining chip. But that didn't matter. Gabrielle was alive, she was sure of that now. Alive. Gabrielle. Alive. Gabrielle is alive…  
_  
Ares was staring at her, almost in shock, and she realized that she was smiling -- and that she had tears in her eyes.

She cleared her throat. She didn't trust herself to speak until the mask was back on and her voice was clear and hard.

"Where is she?"

Ares sighed. "I took her to my temple in Amphipolis."

Her head was spinning; a thousand thoughts of Gabrielle running through her mind all at once. Could it really be true that she was alive, that Ares had really saved her?

"Why would you take her to Amphipolis?" Before Ares had a chance to speak, Xena suddenly narrowed her eyes, a bit of anger in her voice. "You should have brought her to me instead of letting me believe she was dead all this time."

"Xena..."

"Do you have any idea how much pain I've been in?"

Ares didn't know how to respond—she did have a point. He looked down, wanting to avoid her eyes as much as possible. Finally, he glanced away from her, still not wanting to meet her eyes.

"I would have, Xena," he said, in a near whisper. "But I didn't get the chance." Xena was silent. "I took her to Amphipolis because I knew she'd be safe there. She was in pretty bad shape from the fall—barely conscious—and she could be taken care of there."

Xena's eyes flickered with concern for her beloved friend.

"I was going to tell you, Xena. But then I was stripped of my godly powers shortly after and I never got the chance."

Xena's face reflected conflicting emotions: concern at the thought of Gabrielle being hurt, maybe dying...again, understanding that maybe Ares was speaking the truth and anxiety that she had to find out if her friend was all right for herself.

"Is Gabrielle okay?"

He hesitated. "Last I saw her she was sleeping. She had a fractured arm. That was two days ago."

Xena comprehended this and then brought her fingers to her lips, whistling. Argo came galloping toward her. She jumped in the saddle and looked down at Ares.

"I'm going there. I don't care if it's a week's ride away. If Gabrielle is alive, I'm going to get to her...before anything else happens."

Xena turned away and started Argo off at a trot. Ares watched her for a long moment.

"Xena," he called out.

Xena pulled the reigns back, stopping Argo. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Ares.

"Hope may still be out there, we both know that." Xena looked away uneasily. "She's got a bone to pick with you and your friend." He paused, trying to put his words together without sounding overanxious or weak. "It might be best if we travel to Amphipolis together."

Xena pondered this for a moment. _Did she really want him tagging along? He'd been nothing but trouble recently, and did his mortality and the fact that he claimed to have saved Gabrielle really change anything?  
_  
"All right," Xena said reluctantly, looking away, "you can come." In a moment, her head whipped back to look Ares straight in the eye with a steely gaze. "But try anything and you'll be sorry."

Xena turned and rode Argo forward. Ares watched her slowly ride away. He smirked slightly, shaking his head. She always had so much pride—and that was one of the things he liked most about her.

Ares followed her through the forest.

For several hours they continued on, saying nothing to one another. Xena rode ahead of Ares, not stopping to turn her head in his direction. Ares had to wonder briefly if she had forgotten about his presence. He shook his head. Xena would never forget about him. Although they were working together now, at least Ares assumed they were, he still had the potential to be her enemy. Xena would never allow herself to lose her alertness.

The day came and passed without much to mark the passage of the hours. The forest was quiet, save for the chattering of birds high up in the trees. Once, a fox, hot on the trail of some small morsel of food, darted out of the underbrush right before Ares and disappeared again just as quickly. Around the noon hour, when the sun had reached its peak, they rested and ate a little after Xena caught a few fish from a nearby stream.

She hadn't said a word to him then either, and Ares hadn't offered to break the silence. He knew what she had to have been feeling towards him, but nonetheless, the silence was uncomfortable. He was glad when they broke camp and took to their feet once more.

"Well, I was glad," he thought ruefully to himself.

He hadn't factored in that in his now mortal body, muscles and limbs could become sore and tired. Now the soles of his feet begged for respite. Almost, he called out to Xena, but at the last moment, he held his tongue. Admitting his mortality had been embarrassing enough. To admit exhaustion to Xena was out of the question. Gritting his teeth, he walked on, the trek continuing in silence.

As the sun got ready to set, the two found themselves coming to thicker woods.

"Up ahead there's a bridge across a small chasm," Xena said. They were the first words she had spoken to him since allowing Ares to accompany her to Amphipolis. "We'll cross over and find a spot to camp for the night. It'll be dark soon enough."

Her words were more orders than statements, Ares noted, but he noticed also the slight twinge of regret tainting them. He grimaced. Stopping for the night was eating away at her, especially knowing that Gabrielle was alive.

They came to the bridge and found that the once-abandoned passage had attracted new owners. A dozen or so mean and scruffy looking warriors stood about, idly talking. They stood at attention as soon as they could hear the dull clomping of Argo's hooves on the soft ground.

"And what are you, the welcoming committee?" Xena said to them as the first man moved to come up alongside her horse.

"This is the only way across," the man replied, "or else you have to go two day's journey 'round either side. The toll is ten dinars a piece."

"That so?" Xena asked, arching an eyebrow dangerously. She was in no mood to deal with the men.

"You heard me," sneered the greasy-haired warrior. "Pay up or get lost. Or might you be short on coins? I'm sure the boys and I could find some ... alternate payment," he added.

Xena rolled her eyes and delivered a swift kick to the man's jaw, knocking him out for the time being. The others, seeing their leader down, attacked as a single unit. Xena flipped from Argo, unsheathing her sword in one fluid motion. Her blade met another as her feet touched the ground. A feral smile passed over Ares' lips at the thought of a battle. He licked his lips in anticipation as the bloodlust washed over his body. He readied his sword and joined Xena at her side.

The battle was over quickly with the warrioress and former god of war battling together. Three of the warriors lay dead, their blood staining the ground. They were the unfortunate three that had attacked Ares. The others lay on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Let's go," Xena said coldly as she took up Argo's reins and began to lead her over the rickety bridge. Ares sheathed his sword and followed behind. Once they were over, Xena used her blade to slash at the ropes that helped suspend the bridge over the chasm.

"Can't leave that up for them to cross over. For Hades' sake, Ares! You didn't have to kill those men. We don't want to make more enemies. With Hope still out there someplace, we've got all the trouble we need."

Ares felt stung by the reprimanding tone and he shifted uncomfortably. Xena shook her head and stalked off.

It did not take long to find a suitable spot for their camp. Xena left Ares to get the fire started and came back with a couple of young rabbits for their supper. These she roasted over the fire as best she could, and was secretly pleased when the food was cooked without being too much of a disaster. They ate in silence, sitting across from each other, the campfire separating them. Xena looked at Ares thoughtfully, perhaps for the first time since running into him in this mortal state. There was a fear in his eyes, a reluctance to meet her gaze. His body was half-curled like a child trying to protect himself from unseen fears. She should have been glad, she had every right to be. But the sight before her tore at her heart. To see War so diminished and fearful was unsettling to the hardened warrioress.

"Ares," she said softly, and her voice made his head shoot up with a nervous glance. "Come here," she patted the space next to her. 

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I know you were cut with the last thug's sword earlier. You haven't said anything about it, but I want to get a look at it."

Ares got up obediently and came up to Xena, shedding his vest. A neat line of dried blood slashed across his left chest and side. Xena examined the gash, avoiding looking into Ares' half lidded eyes. The pig was enjoying her ministrations to his wound.

"I wanted to ask you about your godhood."

"Yeah?"

"When Zeus stripped you of your power, did he give you any ... clues or instructions about getting it back?"

Ares' eyes flew open and he gave her an amused look. "Why, Xena -- I didn't know you cared."

She wiped the cut with a cloth soaked with a cleansing mixture that made him wince and yelp, "Ow!"

"Don't be such a baby." Her flippant tone masked a mix of concern and anger. This cut wasn't dangerous, but she had no illusions about his ability to fend for himself long-term. But why, exactly, did she care? After everything he had done, she should have glad to see him suffer. But … to see him dead? The thought of it frightened her; and her own fear frightened her even more. She had assumed that he would always be there, if only as a pest.

"Are you trying to poison me?" he grumbled.

She arched a brow. "Can you think of any reason I'd want to?" He gave her a sheepish look and squirmed a little as she continued, "I'm trying to keep that wound of yours from getting infected. A simple cut like this could kill you, you know."

"Great. How do you mo- "

"Yeah, I know, I know." She finished cleaning the cut and picked up the bandage. "How do we mortals get by from day to day. We just do, Ares -- like this. And sometimes," she added bitterly, "we don't. Then we die."

"If you're trying to cheer me up," he said, his voice strained, "it's not working."

She tied the bandage and tugged at the cloth, to make sure it fit snugly enough. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I'm trying," Xena said in a steady voice, "to give you an accurate picture of what's likely to happen if you keep hanging around like this... All done -- you can put your shirt on. Now, I asked you a question. How can you get your godhood back?"

"I thought you didn't want the God of War back in business," Ares retorted as he slipped into his vest.

"War will go on whether you're in business or not." She suddenly gave him a puzzled look. "By the way, how come people haven't been losing control of their aggression like last time it happened?"

Ares was silent for a moment; then he shrugged. "You have to give Zeus some credit -- he's smart. This time, he's split my duties among the other war gods. Athena's in charge of the anger management. Seems to be working out fine." He stared at her defiantly. "Still wanna help me get my godhood back?"

"I'll get back to you on that," she said evenly. "If you're still around, that is. For now, just tell me how."

Ares was silent for a moment, staring off into the darkening woods. Finally he spoke, still looking away. "It's real simple. I have to destroy Hope and that kid of hers."

She had suspected it was something like that.

"And that's it?"

He turned to her, his eyes hard with defiance once again. "Oh yeah, almost forgot. Dad and the other gods are scared to death of going up against Dahak. So they take my powers away and tell me that I can get them back when I've done the job."

"Done the job…. You mean -- they want you to destroy Dahak?"

"You got it." He bit his lip. "Who said Zeus had no sense of humor?"

Xena stared at Ares for a moment, one eyebrow arching dangerously, then shook her head. "Terrific. And just how are we supposed to get rid of Dahak? I'm guessing Hind's blood isn't going to do the trick this time."

Ares was relieved that she had used 'we' and not 'you', but was smart enough to stop himself from pointing that out to Xena. He didn't want to risk a jab to her pride now that she seemed to be on his side for the moment. He'd be better off telling her the truth now. "No, Hind's blood's not going to cut it this time. Besides, Dahak isn't even in this realm. And even if we can get to him . . ."

"We'll be powerless against him."

"You got it."

"Great."

"What do you – " Ares began.

"Not now, I've got to think. There has to be something we can do. Let's get moving again. Once we find Gabrielle and make sure she's all right, then we can worry about taking care of Dahak."


	2. Chapter 2

Ares' thoughts had brightened quite a bit at the thought of Xena's help. He considered his prospects as he trudged along the road beside her, the morning light slowly sifting in through the trees. Xena could always come up with a plan. She had gotten him his godhood back before, hadn't she? She could do it again, Dahak or no. But in spite of his newfound hope, he couldn't resist looking back over his shoulder, feeling as if someone were watching the two of them from behind.

After about three hours on the road, Ares finally decided to break the silence. Xena was still lost in thought -- about Blondie, no doubt. He was getting hungry, and he thought he'd better at least ask about supper. Besides, it might help to get her thinking about something else for a little while.

"Xena, I know you're off in your own little world, but I thought maybe we could stop, you know, catch a bite to eat . . . maybe you could look at my wound again." He couldn't resist a rakish smile at that last part; Xena's lips twitched for a moment, and then her eyes opened wide.

"What did you say?"

"It's okay, I was just kidding about that last part. I am hungry, though."

"No, no – the part about being off in my own little world. Maybe . . . it could work . . ."

Ares, having no idea what she was talking about, asked, "What could work?"

Just then, Xena stopped short, seeming to be concentrating all five senses on something, something that was coming closer to them. Her eyes searched the forest all around them. She moved her fingers briefly over her chakram, tingling in readiness, then withdrew them slowly. Ares thought he saw something moving in the trees, but only for a brief second, and then it was gone again.

The pair moved on for several minutes, during which Xena's guard never went down. She seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Ares began to feel a bit . . . _no, not afraid . . . just anxious_. _Yes, that was the strange sensation._ _Fear was something else entirely._

Suddenly, Xena's whip cracked through the air and brought back with it a hooded figure. Ares let out a small yelp when he recognized the cloak – the person was a follower of Dahak. "Xena, be careful!"

"Who, me?" She flashed him a sardonic grin. "Let's see who our little friend is, shall we?" Xena pulled back the hood to reveal a pale yellow head of closely cropped hair. In a flat voice, Xena muttered, "Seraphin. Nice of you to join us." 

x x x 

Seraphin wriggled out of her grasp, mumbling, "I must go… She's waiting."

"Who's waiting?" Xena noticed that her eyes kept darting around wildly, not focusing on anything. She appeared to be in a trance-like state, oblivious to her surroundings or whom she was talking to.

"I can feel you, goddess Hope. I hear you calling me. Your mother betrayed you once again but that only made you stronger than ever. Soon, you will fulfill your destiny and Dahak's will, will wash over the earth." She smiled then, a smile belonging to a lunatic.

Xena didn't bother masking the disgust that welled up from deep inside her. It took all her inner strength to keep herself from grabbing the girl by the shoulders and shaking her.

So Hope was definitely alive. She briefly considered trying to interrogate Seraphin to find out all the details, but in the current state she was in, Xena knew it would be a futile attempt. What was Hope up to now, another bloodletting?

"I must go." With that, Seraphin turned abruptly and started walking away, an unseen power guiding her through the forest.

Ares waited until Seraphin was out of earshot and then turned to Xena.

"We could follow her. She'll lead us straight to Hope. That will save us the trouble of looking for her. Afterwards, we can-- "

But Xena was already shaking her head. "We need to find Gabrielle first. Everything else will have to wait."

Ares gave a curt nod. "Then we should split up. You go to Amphipolis and I'll go after Seraphin."

Xena stared at him for what seemed like an eternity.

"No," he finally heard her say softly but firmly.

A single syllable that sent Ares into a whirlpool of surprise, confusion, and elation. He silently berated himself for letting his newly acquired mortal emotions affect him so. So what if Xena wanted them to stay together. She probably had her reasons. It didn't mean she really cared about him. Did it? But, he refrained himself from voicing the questions that filled his mind. Not knowing had its merits.

"Okay, let's get going. If we move fast, we should be in Amphipolis in a couple of days." Xena turned away and got on the saddle. Her feelings puzzled her. _Why hadn't she let him go?_ The rational part of her knew the idea made sense but for some reason, the thought of Ares going off by himself tugged painfully at her heart. _What was wrong with her?_ _She couldn't explain it but she was starting to feel responsibility towards the former god of war, as well as … No, better not go there. _

They continued on their way, walking in silence. Xena's mind swam and clouded with all the tasks that lay ahead of them: find Gabrielle, take care of Hope, Dahak, and the Destroyer, who was undoubtedly out there as well, and get Ares' godhood back. It was too much and just thinking about it was exhausting.

After a short while, as the sun's final rays were slowly fading away, Ares could feel the muscles in his legs begin to ache in protest. Just as he thought that he wouldn't be able to take another step, they came upon a small clearing and Xena decided to stop for the night. Feeling an intense sense of relief wash over him, Ares was all but ready to collapse on the ground and not get up until daybreak; and if it weren't for the sudden pangs of hunger that reminded him that he hadn't eaten since mid-morning, he would have. Instead, with resignation, he muttered something about firewood and disappeared in the shadows. When he returned with a small pile of sticks, he found Xena sitting on her bedroll, a pensive look plastered on her face. He began to start fire, or at least attempt to, dimly wondering whether she was planning on catching their supper tonight.

"You know, you still haven't told me why you saved Gabrielle."

Startled by the sudden sound of her voice, Ares dropped the few twigs he was holding.

After letting the question fully sink in, he squirmed uncomfortably and lowered his eyes.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking then. I mean, I was … I--I just wanted ... She was…" Stumbling over his own words was embarrassing enough and who knows what would have escaped his lips if he kept at it, so he promptly shut his mouth. The annoying thing was that he wasn't exactly sure why he had bothered saving the blonde, so how could he explain it?

He dared a glance at her, ready for some rebuke, but what he saw surprised him. Xena was looking at him, her eyes revealing a trace of understanding amidst the sadness.

Supper forgotten, Ares got up and moved towards Xena, sitting down besides her on the grass.

"So are you gonna tell me your plan for destroying Dahak or what? You must have one by now. "

Instantly recalling the idea that entered her mind earlier, she turned to him, uncertainty reflected in her features.

"I was thinking … there's no way that we'll be able to kill Dahak here. The idea of battling an invisible force does not hold a lot of promise."

Ares stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Dahak is not from our realm."

"Yeah." He still didn't see where she was going with this.

"So would it be possible for us to enter his realm and defeat him there? He has to have a physical form in his world. You are … were a god," Xena saw Ares flinch at that, "so you must know all about the different realms and how they operate, don't you?"

Ares stared at her, his face carefully blank. "His realm," he said. 

"Yes." 

"You want to enter his realm." 

"What's the matter with you?" 

"You want to enter his realm. His realm in which he is omnipotent. His realm in which he can squash me like a bug as soon as I set foot within it." 

Xena's hackles rose. "You got a better idea?" 

He subsided with a petulant scowl, and Xena busied herself with applying a spark to the kindling in order to hide her face. Why would she feel guilty about snapping at Ares? It was Ares. He was acting like his feelings were hurt or something-- 

She raised her head abruptly. "These twigs aren't going to last an hour. Go get bigger pieces of wood. I'll go and get us a rabbit." 

Ares's stomach growled fiercely. 

"Or two. You can cook them." Without waiting for a reply, Xena stalked out of the clearing. She wasn't going to start developing compassion for the rat. 

A forlorn whine followed her into the brush. "I'm cooking?"

x x x

Ares tossed the last rabbit bone onto his pile. Once they'd cut off the charring, it hadn't been too bad. Granted, he had been ravenous. 

"Why did you come to me?" 

He shrugged. "I knew I could count on you." 

"You knew you could count on me?" she hissed. "After you betrayed me, your family, and the entire human race, you thought you could count on me? After you plague me for years with your petty schemes, you thought you could count on me? You abandon me for the chance to be Dahak's stud bull, and you thought you could count on me? Tell me how I can count on you, if you think you know so much." 

Her face was inches from his, so close that he could see the flickering reflection of the fire in her eyes. It had nothing on the fury already present. He licked his lips and leaned forward. 

She shot back on her heels. "What are you doing?" 

His mouth moved soundlessly. "I ... Nothing." He sat back, more than half-surprised himself. "Uh. I guess we have no choice but to go to Dahak's realm. We can't touch him here." The words came out in a rush.

"Amphipolis first." 

"Yes." 

"Alright. I'll send a message tomorrow." 

"Message?" 

"You've lost your powers. A half-god is better than nothing." 

Ares blinked. "No, no, no, no, no," he chanted. "You want to send for Hercules?" 

x x x

Ares sat by the stream. After Xena decided they would need the help of his oh-so-annoying half-brother, they rode to the nearest town. Ares, having lost his powers, was to keep out of sight. They couldn't take the chance of someone recognizing him. So there he was, sitting, a mile away from the small town, staring at the fish.

"Great! The exciting sport of fish watching." Ares kicked the dirt. 

"Grody! That's a stupid idea for a sport." Ares glanced up just in time to see small sparks die away from the form that stood before him. "Hey, bro!"

Ares groaned, "Is there some you want, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite's hand flew to her heart. "Ouch. Well, excuse me. Didn't mean to interrupt your oh-so-interesting time with the fishies, Mr. Grouchy!"

"Pardon me if I'm not in the best mood. Knowing it's only a matter of time before I see that mongrel half-brother of ours tends to make me a little _grouchy_."

Aphrodite looked around, "Hey, where's the warrior babe? I could have sworn I saw her with you earlier."

"You were watching me."

"Well I didn't want anything to happen to the only one who can keep the baddies away from my temples." Ares rolled his eyes, "Oh, come on. Being mortal can't be that bad. So, Herc is going to see you as a scrawny mortal who can't really fight back." To Ares' irritated face she spoke, "It's really not that bad. Anyway, you're with the warrior babe. That's a plus."

Ares threw a rock into the stream. "Thanks for the update, Sis. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go and think about all the ways I could have killed Hercules when I was still a god." He started back into the woods.

"Wait, Ares. Is warrior babe gonna help you?"

Ares smirked, "I'm surprised you weren't listing to our conversations."

Aphrodite crossed her arms, "Hey! I, like, _do_ respect your privacy. So is she?"

"Yeah, she's going to help me."

Aphrodite squealed, "That's great. I mean with what Dad said I thought she might say no. This just shows you how much she doesn't hate you. I mean that whole thing about …"

"I didn't tell her, 'Dite." Ares stared at the stream.

"What do you mean, you didn't tell her?! Ares, you can't do that. It's not fair to her."

Ares head shot up. "Do you hear that? It's Argo."

"SO?! This is more important than some horse. Ares, look at me!" Aphrodite stomped her foot, "This is important."

"Ares!" Xena's voice reached the clearing. 

"Go, Aphrodite. I'll talk to you later. And _don't_ mention this to Xena." His voice had a harshness to it.

Aphrodite's words lingered as did the sparks from her departure. "Don't mess this up, Bro."

"Ares!"

"I'm over here." Ares sat on one of the rocks.

Xena entered the small clearing with Argo in tow.

"So how'd it go?" Ares said.

"Fine. I got some jerky while I was in town and a couple other things so we aren't stuck eating fish for a while."

Ares smiled. "Great. So what did you write in the message?"

Xena raised an eyebrow. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, nothing really."

"Did you say I was with you?"

She moved to tie Argo to a nearby tree. "You know, I don't remember. I guess you'll just have to wait to find out." She smirked, "Why don't you go get some wood and start a fire a little bit away from here. I'm going to sharpen my sword."


	3. Chapter 3

Ares awoke the next morning to the sound of a female voice singing and of gently splashing water. He looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see Xena from the ground, so he got up from the petite-sized bedroll he had to make do with, and went to see where she was. Feeling a bit apprehensive without really knowing why, Ares pulled his sword from its scabbard and moved slowly toward the sound coming from behind the curtain of foliage.

Peering through the bushes that concealed a gurgling stream, he saw Xena, her back to him, taking her morning bath. He gazed at her for a few seconds, letting a soft expression slip over his face that would have seemed unaccustomed there, had anyone been watching him. After a moment, he realized that something about this wasn't right. _I shouldn't be watching her bathe like this – it's different now that I'm mortal,_ he thought. Then he realized that that wasn't what was bothering him. _It was that she hadn't turned around at all._ She hadn't sensed his approach, not the way she used to.

Suddenly something gripped Ares' shoulder from behind, whirled him around, and knocked him face-first onto the ground. He felt a sharp kick at his back, then felt the weight of the kick stay in place at the bottom of his rib cage.

"Hold it right there, Ares. You're not going to hurt Xena or anyone else. Not anymore." _Great. _ He recognized his half-brother's voice and cringed, at the same time realizing what it had looked like, his sneaking up on Xena with sword drawn – while she was bathing, no less. _This is not going to be a good day. I knew it.  
_  
"Hercules. Thanks for coming. But it's all right, he's on our side – for the moment." Ares twisted his head around to look at Xena, who by this time was fully dressed, except for her armor. _Damn him!_

Hercules gave Xena a quizzical glance, then removed his foot from Ares' back. He looked down at him critically. "I heard you were mortal, but this is just pathetic." Hercules flashed Xena a complacent grin; Ares was strangely pleased to see that she only half-smiled sardonically in response. He picked himself up off the ground and took a few steps to stand between Hercules and Xena; with his arms folded he faced his half-brother and glared black daggers at him. Hercules turned his attention to Xena.

She briefly explained the situation and their plans to find Gabrielle, then kill Hope, her spawn, and Dahak. Hercules had already had a taste of Hope's powers, which had almost killed him and his mother, so it took very little convincing for him to offer his services to help stop Dahak and his daughter – and his grandson.

Ares, still feeling the pangs of wounded pride from Hercules' earlier insult, couldn't resist the chance of taking him down a notch or two. "Just how do you think you're going to help, hero? I mean, you're good for slaying a few measly monsters, but come on! What do you think, that Dahak is just some kind of giant bug with enormous teeth and claws, and that you and your little buddy Iolaus are going to be able to throw him off a cliff into a pit full of fire from which he can never escape? Puh-lease."

Xena jabbed Ares in the ribs. "Ares, we need all the help we can get. And _I_ need someone I can _trust_."

The pleased chuckle that was still on Ares lips died instantly, and he glanced quickly over at Xena before he turned away. She caught his look in the instant that it was there. Surely he doesn't expect me to trust him? It looked like I hurt his feelings, but why on earth should he be surprised? Suddenly, she thought of Gabrielle, of the day they first met, looking up at her with that innocent, trusting face. _She trusted me._ She pushed the thought out of her mind.

Ares walked some distance away, pretending to admire the beauty of the forest, and all the while listening intently to what Xena and Hercules were saying.

Once Ares had left the conversation, Hercules stepped toward Xena and looked at her for a moment. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Xena? You know Ares is a snake. You can't count on him to help us. Look at the way he betrayed you before. Now we're supposed to let him in on everything just so he can do it again? What if he's still working for Dahak?"

Xena admitted to herself that similar thoughts had been going through her mind for the past few days, but when Hercules vocalized them, they seemed . . . slightly ridiculous, somehow. Ares was a rat, to be sure, and he'd do anything to save his own skin, but . . . Xena realized that his view of Ares was different from hers – and that perhaps she knew him better than Hercules did.

"Look, he doesn't have his powers anymore. And he _did_ save my friend, even if he was the reason she almost died in the first place. Besides, I . . . well, he needs us to defeat Dahak to get his godhood back, so his best bet is to work with us, not against us."

_Is she actually defending me? To Hercules? Ohh, he's gotta love that! _Ares couldn't hold back a spiteful grin.

"Woah, woah, woah. Get his godhood back? Xena, have you lost your mind? Ares is nothing but a cold-blooded killer! Why would you want to restore him to Mount Olympus?" Hercules looked at Xena with concern.

Xena was getting tired of arguing. "Look, we're gonna find Gabrielle, destroy Dahak, and get Ares' godhood back. If you don't like it, you can go fight Dahak on your own!" she nearly yelled at him, then realized what she had done. "Uh, sorry. I just . . ."

Hercules looked slightly hurt, but waved away her apology. "It's all right. I'm going to help you, you know that," and glancing over at the brother he despised, he spoke determinedly, "no matter what." He turned back to the warrior woman then and spoke softly, "Just remember who your friends are, Xena. Ares would never risk his life to save you. I would." _And I'm going to be there to protect you when you figure out what he's really up to, _he wanted to add.

Xena was completely unaware of the fact, but at that moment, Hercules came very near to losing all his teeth. Ares, mortal or no, was about a hairsbreadth away from charging at him full force and wailing on him until one or the other of them lost consciousness. Seething with anger, he almost shouted, "That's not true, you bastard! If you knew –" _but no, he couldn't say anything. She couldn't know about that. And Hercules definitely couldn't._

x x x

Breakfast that morning was uncomfortably quiet. With the jerky, bread and cheese that she'd bought from town the day before they had enough to sustain them through lunch if they had to.

Ares took his portions and sat on a rock a distance from Hercules and Xena, who were gathered around the fire. He didn't really feel welcome around them since Hercules had joined the group. He was still not fond of the idea of Hercules tagging along, though he knew that Xena was set on the idea, and of course, there was no talking her out of that. He knew that she believed that Hercules could help them and though he wouldn't admit it, maybe she was right—but still, the idea of his mongrel half-brother sticking his nose in everything they did didn't sit too well with him. He just had to live with it. Unfortunately.

Ares pulled a piece of fish off the bone and popped it in his mouth. He sat in silence and glanced over at Xena and Hercules, who had already finished their food, their empty plates sitting in their laps. Xena smiled a little at Hercules and he smiled back — and Ares could tell that they were catching up as good friends do after they haven't seen each other for a long time. Maybe they had come together during unfortunate circumstances, but this quiet time around the campfire allowed them to enjoy themselves, if only for a little while. And at this moment, Ares felt like an outsider.

He directed his eyes away from them as something inside of him began to sting, a feeling triggered by the sight of Xena and Hercules together, sharing each others company. _What am I, jealous? Jealous of Hercules? Please!_ But the thought still lingered in his mind. Hercules had had a relationship with Xena once before, when she was young and vulnerable after her sudden change of heart, switching to the side of good. He'd only made her feel that way because he'd changed her and something inside her made her weak for him. Ares had no idea why and didn't like to think about it because it made him cringe. _No, Xena didn't feel that way about him anymore,_ he thought, convincing himself. He shook his head and that was the end of those thoughts.

But one thought drifted into another. Something inside him suddenly stung and the memory of what Xena said earlier that day flashed through his mind: "Ares, we need all the help we can get. And _I_ need someone I can _trust_." Ares wasn't sure why it bothered him so much — the thought of Xena not trusting him. It's not like he ever really gave her any reason to trust him. But for some reason, her words had really gotten to him. Was he hurt because of it? He wasn't sure what exactly it was that made him uneasy when he'd heard her say it. Maybe he'd expected too much of her; that now that they were on the same side, she'd be able to trust him with the drop of a hat. He should have known better. Xena had never been that trusting, especially of someone who was her enemy. Ares knew they'd certainly not had the happiest of histories ... Still, she was able to deal with him for this long already and if she could do that, maybe in time, she could trust him.

Ares sighed and set his plate down and stood up. Xena looked at him.

"Done? Good. We need to be going."

Xena and Hercules stood up and they began to pack up camp. Ares stood back but said nothing.

Xena strapped the rolled up bedrolls to Argo's saddle and unhooked her reigns from the tree. Then she stopped short, her eyes darting around, warily.

"What is it?" Hercules asked.

Xena didn't answer as she scanned the forest. Across from her, Ares had begun to look nervous and he slowly moved his hand toward the hilt of his sword at his side. There was a long moment of silence before the leaves in front of them, at the edge of camp near the lake, began to rustle. They started silent, then grew louder. A low growling began to emanate from behind them.

On the other side of the clearing, two eyes could be seen peering through the foliage, looking at Xena, Hercules and Ares.

Xena reached for her sword and chakram, which were sitting on the ground by the fire. She gave the sword a brief twirl, pointing it out in front of her and held out her chakram in her other hand. Hercules braced himself for whatever was making its way toward them.

The two of them began to move toward the rustling leaves, cautiously. Ares watched from a distance away. As a mortal, fear seemed to paralyze his body, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he wasn't scared and that he wasn't a coward. He had no power over what his body was feeling so he gave in to it and stayed back as Xena and Hercules prepared themselves for the danger.

Xena and Hercules stopped in front of a large cluster of bushes. Xena glanced at Hercules and nodded, getting him prepared for whatever it was that was behind the leaves. Hercules nodded in understanding. They reached for the bushes, prepared to move the branches aside to see what was behind them, but just as they did, the rustling and growling stopped and everything became silent. Xena glanced at Hercules and they both looked bewildered. Across from them, Ares looked relieved.

"Maybe it was just a squirrel," Ares said.

"No. No squirrel I've ever heard has sounded like that..."

Just then, there was a loud, ominous growling—but it wasn't coming from in front of them. It was coming from behind them.

"Xena!" Ares' voice rang out, filled with fear.

Xena and Hercules whirled around. Xena gasped at the sight.

There was a large beast that stood twice as tall as Hercules, standing on big frog-like feet, with spikes growing out of its skin. The beast had wrapped its hand around Ares' body and Ares was struggling to free himself.

"That must be Hope's child, the Destroyer..." Xena whispered.

"Ugly thing, isn't it?"

Xena ignored Hercules' comment and charged toward the Destroyer. She swung her sword at the monster, screaming at the top of her lungs. But the Destroyer took his free hand and hit it against her sword, knocking Xena back. She landed on the ground beside Hercules and quickly got to her feet. The Destroyer tried to slash Xena with his long claw, but Hercules kicked his hand and the Destroyer stepped back.

"Xena, get me away from this thing!" Ares pleaded.

Hercules smirked and was clearly enjoying this sight of the helpless and pathetic ex-god. "What's wrong, bro? Too much for you?"

Ares would have glared at him but he was a little preoccupied. The Destroyer tightened his grip around Ares' waist and Ares began to cough. It was very difficult to breathe.

The Destroyer turned around and began to walk out of the clearing, with Ares still in his hand.

"Xe-ena..." Ares did not have enough strength to free himself.

Xena charged toward the monster again. She slashed her sword at the Destroyer's back and was able to cut into the Destroyer's leg. The Destroyer reared back in pain and turned around, growling at Xena.

"You want some more of this," Xena grinned. "Okay."

Xena swung again and sliced the Destroyer's other leg. He reared back and let go of Ares, tossing him across the forest and hitting a tree on the other side. The Destroyer began to whimper and ran back into the forest.

When the dust had cleared and all was calm once more, Xena ran to Ares' side. Hercules followed, but he wasn't as eager to see if Ares was okay as Xena was.

Xena knelt down next to Ares. He was leaning against the tree, his hand rubbing at his head.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah ... As all right as a mortal can be, anyway."

"Come on."

Xena stood up and extended her hand toward him. Ares looked at it for a moment, then grasped it and she helped him to his feet.

"No visible damage, I see." Xena said, looking him over.

Hercules walked up, with an almost taunting grin on his face. "Your offspring packs quite a punch, huh?"

Ares glared at him, but said nothing. Xena turned around to look at Hercules.

"You could have been a little less preoccupied with taunting Ares."

"Hey," Hercules held up his hands, looking rather hurt, "he wasn't in any _real_ danger. That monster ... wasn't even that scary. He just fled after you wounded him." He paused. "Besides ..." he glanced at Ares "... he deserved it."

"Deserved it..." Xena repeated his words.

"He did play a part in creating that thing..." Hercules' words were harsh.

Ares snarled and charged at Hercules, slamming him against a tree.

"You know nothing of it, little brother!"

Ares was boiling with anger and he had half a mind to punch the stuffing out of the half-god. His face was only inches away from Hercules' and both of them stared at each other; both of them could explode into a fight at any moment.

"All right. Break it up." Xena took Ares' shoulder and pulled him away from Hercules. She looked at the two of them. "We're in this together, okay? We have to get along."

Ares stepped back and looked at Xena, then glanced at Hercules, then back at Xena. "We stay together, one of us is going to be in for some serious pain," he glared at Hercules, "and it definitely isn't going to be me. I can't stand up to the Destroyer—you just saw that—let alone Hope and Dahak." Xena looked at him with a questioning look. He looked at her. "You and Hercules can do a better job of this than I can. Why don't you ... go on by yourselves."

"Ares, you know we can't do that. You're supposed to participate in bringing them down in order to get your godhood back. And as I said before, we need all the help we can get."

Ares looked at Xena for a long moment. Her face was almost kind and hopeful, as if she didn't want him to leave. He glanced over at Hercules, who was quietly watching them, but wasn't about to say anything.

Ares nodded. "Fine. If you think it's best."

Xena managed a small smile and without thinking, put her hand on his in a friendly gesture. "It's for the best."

In the next moment, she realized what she had done and removed her hand, embarrassed by her show of affection toward Ares.

"So, what's next?" Hercules said, stepping up to them.

"Don't know. But if the Destroyer is here, then Hope must be nearby. And I'm sure we'll see more of her before we reach Amphipolis." Xena replied. "One thing's for sure, though—I don't think Hope wants to kill Ares."

"She doesn't?" Ares was surprised.

Xena shook her head. "No. The Destroyer could have ripped you apart when he caught you, but he didn't. He was going to take you away, back to wherever Hope is hiding. I think she wants you alive ... "

"So, she's got plans for him?" Hercules asked.

"Maybe. But whatever she has in mind, it cannot be good."

x x x

Xena was starting to hate them both. They'd been traveling together for two whole days, and already they were treading on her last nerve_. I'm gonna kill 'im,_ she thought, not sure which one she meant. _Maybe both of them._ She shook her head, trying to lighten her thoughts. She realized that the landscape was getting more familiar – Potedeia wasn't far off.

She remembered the time that she and her companion had traveled here before – Gabrielle's sister Lila had been very ill, and her parents had been lucky enough to get word to them to get them to come. Lila had recovered fully, but she had still felt guilty for keeping Gabrielle away from her family. She's with them now, at least, Xena thought. Am I right to go to her now? Maybe she'd be better off without me. But I have to know that she's all right, anyway. We can sort the rest out later.

Hercules interrupted her reverie by pointing out a nearby temple. "Maybe we should stop in there and see if there's any news about Hope or the Destroyer."

"Good idea," Xena answered. "They may have already had some trouble with them."

They turned off the path and entered the temple. At once all three of them could sense that something was not right. The temple, once dedicated to Hestia, was abandoned. Cobwebs covered the hearth, which was made out of smooth brown stones.

"No one's been in this place for months," Ares said, trying to retain his cockiness despite his feeling of uneasiness. "So much for your brilliant idea, Bro."

Xena turned to him before Hercules could reply, ending up with her face a little closer to his than she'd intended. "No, something's not right here – I . . . it's the smell! What does that smell like to you?"

Ares took a slight step closer to her. "Xena, I thought you'd be used to traveling with Jerkules by now."

"Very funny, Ares." Hercules merely rolled his eyes – he wasn't going to get on Xena's bad side again by stooping to his level.

"No, I'm serious – that smell isn't . . . right. I'd expect it in one of _your_ temples, Ares," she gave him a wry look, "but the odor of rotting flesh is not something I'd think to find in a temple of Hestia."

Ares and Hercules both looked at each other, then at Xena. Hercules spoke first. "You think . . ."

"Hope. She's got to have fresh meat to feed her precious baby." She spoke the words disgustedly, through clenched teeth, giving a sideways glance at Ares.

"Xena. It's so _nice_ of you to come and see me," a gravelly female voice spoke poisonously, as Xena, Ares and Hercules whirled around to face the demonic half-goddess.

"Hope." Xena pulled her chakram loose from her belt and clenched it tightly, remembering the wicked thing's ability to move things with her mind. "Haven't you had enough of me yet?" Xena snarled as she spat out the words, drawing her sword out of its sheath.

"Not yet, Xena. You're not dead." She smirked, looking like a snake as she stared soullessly into Xena's eyes. Suddenly, Xena's chakram flew from her hand and lodged itself into a crevice in the wall. Her sword began moving toward her face; Xena cut her hand trying to push it away from her.

"Hope! You've got to stop this, right now!" Ares growled angrily at the mother of his spiky offspring.

Hope's attention was drawn away from Xena, as if she hadn't noticed Ares' presence before. "Ah, Ares, my dear. Your son will be happy that you've finally come home. And I've got plans for you as well."

Ares stepped forward in front of Xena. "This doesn't concern Xena. Let her go."

Xena yelled from behind him, "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving before we kill her and her demon-spawn!"

"Xena, Xena, Xena. Oh, dear. I suppose Ares hasn't told you the happy news yet."

Xena looked at Hope with an expression of pure hatred. "Told me what?"

"He's bound to protect me and my son. We're married, you see." Hope smiled evilly at Xena, and then at Ares. "So you see, in order to kill me, you'll have to go through him first." Hope turned on her heel then and left, running into one of the back chambers of the temple, no doubt to go and fetch her son for the awaited feeding.

By that time, Hercules' hand was around Ares' throat, and this time Xena did nothing to restrain him. "What is she talking about, you coward? I knew it! You've been working for Dahak all this time. Our father should have killed you instead of just taking your godhood!" Xena merely stood by and watched them, as if in disbelief.

Ares gasped for breath as he tried in vain to pry away his half-brother's solid fingers from his neck. "He didn't!" he finally managed to say, raggedly.

Xena pulled Hercules back, getting him to relax his grip on Ares' neck somewhat. "He didn't what? Answer me, you bastard!"

Just then, Hope returned, followed by a hulking shadow that the three of them recognized as the Destroyer.

Xena ran full-force at the Destroyer, intending to inflict more damage on it and distract Hope at the same time. She swung her sword at the monster's legs while avoiding its dagger-lined arms.

At the same time, Hercules pulled a weapon out of his boot and charged into the fray. Hope saw him coming and used her powers to fling him into a wall. Then she refocused her efforts on Xena, who was having only minimal success with the Destroyer, despite its slowness in close-range combat – it swung madly about with its long limbs, preventing her from reaching anything vital with her sword.

Ares, unable to do anything to harm Hope and the Destroyer, stood helplessly off to the side. Hope looked at him expectantly. "You know what you have to do, don't you, Ares?" He pulled his sword, looked at her, then at Xena, and then stepped closer to Xena, as if prepared to fight her and take some of the heat off the Destroyer. Hope smiled wickedly, knowing that the former god of war was bound to her and their son.

Ares looked back at Hope, making sure that her eyes were on him. He raised his sword over Xena's head while she was still busy fighting his monstrous child.

Hope used her powers to pull a sword from the wall, prepared to take out Xena should Ares falter or be struck down. 

Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. Xena and the Destroyer both looked in her direction as she screamed hoarsely, her eyes bulging in shock. They saw Hercules towering over her, holding the bloodied weapon he had used to stab her in the chest. The half-goddess looked accusingly at the hero before she crumpled to the ground.

Thinking quickly, Hercules tossed the dagger he had been holding to Xena, who was still standing next to the Destroyer, who by that time was really pissed off. The creature, moaning in agony over the loss of his mother, took an angry swing at Xena with his sharp arm-extensions. Xena caught the dagger and rolled away from the Destroyer, ending up slightly behind him and to his left. Ares took a step closer, now holding his sword at arm's length in front him. The Destroyer, apparently not afraid of Ares, turned to slash at Xena again with his left arm, then stood facing her.

Hercules, who was about to tackle Ares, was stunned to see him suddenly run at the hideous creature with the sword pointed outward. The weapon plunged into the Destroyer's back; the monster quickly hurled its body backward in pain. Xena, surprised, but taking no chances, deftly stuck the Hind's Blood Dagger into the Destroyer's abdomen. It shrieked in pain, lashing out blindly in all directions.

Xena, Hercules and Ares scattered away from the beast as it flailed about angrily. Then, after exhausting its remaining life force, it slowly stalked over to where Hope lay, and cradled its mother's body in his arms, stroking her hair while cutting her cheek with its razor-sharp spikes. The thing wailed pitifully in a way that was frighteningly human, and then, still holding Hope's corpse, he slumped over on his side, and died.

Ares, Xena and Hercules walked wordlessly out of the temple.

They didn't notice the girl Seraphin, who watched them go from behind a curtain. After they left, she stepped out into the open temple, crouched beside the bodies lying on the floor, touched them, and then stood up slowly. Her eyes danced feverishly, then suddenly glowed with something that was more darkness than light. She walked out into the night, allowing its black velvety cloak to embrace her.


	4. Chapter 4

Night had rushed the day away. The air was stale and the heat was a bit annoying, but that wasn't Ares biggest problem. Xena had refused to speak to him, much less look him in the eye after they left the temple. He couldn't make heads or tails of her reaction to Hope's words. Ares grabbed a knife out of Argo's saddlebag and began to skin the small animal Xena had caught early. He glanced around the campsite.

No one was around. Xena had gone to the stream to fill the water bags. She had told the Hercules not to worry – she was going to take her time. Hercules decided not to listen.

He gave Ares a nasty look, "You better not do anything while I'm gone." He stood up and left to go after Xena.

Ares returned the look to Hercules backside. _And you'd better not do anything to upset her. _Who was he kidding? She was mad at him. The only thing that he couldn't figure out was why she didn't just leave him back there at the temple. If he remembered right she had a temper, a big one.

Hercules' returning footsteps pulled Ares out of his thoughts. He looked up to meet his half-brother's gaze. Neither said a thing. Hercules looked to the rabbit and went over to Argo's side. He pulled out a small sack. Ares took the skinned rabbit and put it in a frying pan over the fire. Hercules came to the fire and added spices from the bag to the rabbit. Ares looked at the demi-god, "Is she ok?"

Hercules simply stated, "Yes." 

Ares rolled his eyes. "Well?" 

Hercules poked the rabbit with a stick, refusing to meet Ares' eyes. "Well what?"

Ares stood up, "What is your problem? It's not like I'm going to go over there and purposely make her feel bad or anything."

Hercules dropped the bag and dusted his hands off. "Really?" 

"Don't start with me, Hercules. I haven't done anything to her, in fact I just saved her from that thing in that temple."

"Oh, yes. And that totally erases everything you've done to her. I mean it's really your fault to begin with that Gabrielle is gone. Isn't it? You helped Hope and Dahak. In fact you MARRIED Hope. And to think Xena had tried to trust you. Frankly I think you deserve whatever Dahak might do to you once he figures out you had a hand in killing Hope."

Ares wanted to tear Hercules to pieces. "It's really none of your business, now, is it? Xena can take care of herself. She doesn't need you to watch her every move."

"Yes, well, with the God of War, excuse me, FORMER God of War, you don't know what to expect. Now do you? For all I know you could already have your powers back and could just be messing with our heads."

"Oh! Yes, Hercules. You've figured me out, because of course I want to spend all my time with YOU, of all people."

"Shut up."

"Make me. Idiot."

"You…"

"HEY!" Xena stood next to Argo with a aggravated expression on her face. "What are you two doing? I could hear you all the way by the stream. You sounded like five year olds."

Hercules glared at Ares, "He's the one you started it."

Ares looked offended, "Excuse me. I just asked you a question."

"Alright, just stop it. I'm in no mood for this. Just shut up." Hercules smiled and Xena turned to look at him, "The both of you!" She grabbed the spice bag off the ground and put it back into Argo's saddlebag. "We need to get our rest. If we get an early start we can be in Amphipolis before nightfall." Xena's expression changed and she sniffed the air. She turned to look at the fire. "Damn it."

Ares and Hercules looked to the now burning rabbit. Ares grabbed the pan and set it on the grass. "Great."

The three sat around the fire picking at their semi-burnt rabbit piece. Xena tossed what was left on her plate into the fire. "I'm going to bed."

Hercules followed Xena's actions and dumped his leftovers into the fire. "Goodnight."

Ares gaze meet Xena's, "Goodnight."

She turned away. Something had been hidden there in her eyes, but Ares couldn't figure out what it was. It definitely wasn't anger, which he would have expected. It had been more of a hurt look.

Xena crawled into her bedroll. She turned away from the fire to face Argo. Ares and Hercules were on the other side of the fire, so no one saw the look of pain and betrayal that was on her face before she closed her eyes.

x x x

Xena's eyes remained closed. She could hear the footsteps. They sounded too light to be either Ares' or Hercules' and they were too far apart. It sounded like whoever it was was trying to be very quiet. She thought she heard the tapping of a pan, but who would be…"Oww!" She flew up at the sound of an object, or in this case, person, falling to the ground. Ares' stood, sword drawn, over the bumbling fool himself.

Xena's voice hinted cheer, "Hello, Joxer."

Joxer scrambled to Xena's feet and stood up, "H-h-hi, Xena." He dusted himself off.

Xena looked to Ares and he just shrugged, "How was I supposed to know it was the bumbling idiot?"

Xena shook her head, "Joxer, what are you doing here?"

Joxer stood tall, or at least as tall as he could get and straightened his 'armor.' "Well, I heard that you were nearby and I thought that I could help. Plus, I had this letter for you." He started to dig around his 'armor'. "I know it's around here somewhere." He dug through his bag, "That's weird, I had a letter from someone for you."

"Well," Xena rose her eyebrow, "Where is it?"

"I think I lost it."

"Do you know who it was from?"

"Sorry. I do know it was on some sort of temple stationery. Not your ordinary scroll. It had this weird seal imprint on it."

"Great." Xena rolled her eyes. She looked around, then turned to Ares. "Where's Hercules?"

Ares laughed, "Over by the stream. Some animal seemed to have found its way to his bag. And I think it wanted to add a bit of perfume to his clothes."

Xena looked back at Joxer, "Are you ok? You seem a bit jumpy."

Joxer didn't let his eyes leave Ares. "I...I..I…I'm fine." He whispered, "Why's he here?"

"Don't worry, Joxer, he's here to help. He's been turned mortal."

"Ohh…O.oo…ok."

Xena grabbed her chakram from beside her bedroll, "I'm going to see if I can get us some breakfast. You two play nice."

"Wait, Xena!" He pulled a small sack out of his bag, "I brought some fruit and nuts."

"Thank you, Joxer." She took the sack from his hand. "Since we don't have to cook, we can eat on the road. There's a stream over there. Can you get Hercules?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Joxer smiled and turned around. He stumbled to get around Ares, "Sss…sorry."

"Ares, pack up the bedrolls." Xena grabbed a water bag and tied it to Argo's saddle.

Ares stood for a second then decided this was as good a time as any, "Xena, I…" 

Xena turned to face him, "Ares, I really don't want to hear any excuses from you. We are going to get Gabrielle and then we are going to kill Dahak. After that you will get your godhood back and we can go our different ways." With that said, she turned back to Argo and gave the animal a piece of a fruit.

He should have stopped her, should have told her what he needed to, but the coldness of her earlier voice stopped him in his tracks.

_We can go our different ways._ He knew she didn't mean it in the bitterly literal sense, or did she? After this whole mess, would Xena really turn her back on him, cut him off in all ways, because of his role in the recent events? After all, it wasn't like he had meant for anything catastrophic to happen. He had only sided with Dahak because he had feared for his life. He was the God of War, meant to be a survivor. He knew all too well that rebels against the stronger warrior often got crushed in the end, so when he had been faced with a decision to join Dahak or fight against him, he had played what he had thought was the safer bet. It had been humiliating for him to submit to another, to be sure, but he had always thought that he could find a nice safe position and if need be, take down Dahak later on down the road. He had never intended for things to get so complicated.

"Ares?" Xena asked, turning around to check on his progress. "The bedrolls...now."

He weakly nodded his head in compliance. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Xena even more. He had done enough of that in the last few days (or was it weeks?) to last a life time. He packed the camp without so much as another word, only looking up when Hercules and Joxer reentered the camp. Hercules was still wringing water out of one of his spare shirts, gaining a pleased smirk from Ares.

Hercules ignored the former god. "Ready to go?"

Xena nodded. "Yeah, all set. We'll eat on the road. I want to get to Amphipolis as soon as we can."

"Xena," Ares began tentatively. When she said nothing to stop him, he swallowed hard and continued on. "I know you're anxious to get there, but you have to understand something. There's no guarantee that your friend is even still there." He spoke gently and without even the faintest hint of malice.

Xena's heart softened a little at the effort Ares was making to be gentle. "I know," she said, just as softly, "but I'm not giving up, either."

"Right there with you, Xena," Joxer said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The warrioress flashed the man a soft smile. "Thanks. Alright, standing around here isn't getting us anywhere. Let's put some miles behind us. Joxer, you find that scroll yet?"

"Uh...not yet," he said, standing awkwardly and using the toe of one boot to scratch an itch on the other leg. A sudden realization came over his face. "Wait a second," he said as he reached down to pull out a rolled up piece of parchment.  
Joxer's face clouded as he held up the parchment. Noticing that it was rather crinkled, he, oblivious to Xena's impatient look, fumbled to smooth it out before presenting it. Just one stubborn crease eluded him...

"Joxer," cut Xena's impatient, if not kind, voice. It was actually kind of comforting to see Joxer bumbling around - and certainly less irritating than the constant bickering of her other two male companions.

Offering an apologetic smile, Joxer dutifully handed over the still-slightly-crinkled parchment.

The instant it touched Xena's hand - and she got a good look at the seal - she whirled around, brandishing the parchment like a makeshift weapon and fixing a cool gaze on Ares. "Any other surprises you want to enlighten me about?"

Her face wasn't giving anything away and Ares was already nervously denying any involvement - now wasn't the time to further anger Xena - when he caught sight of the seal. And burst out in laughter.

Hercules was watching this exchange silently, more than happy to watch Ares get yelled at. His laughter was confusing. And it appeared that he wasn't the only one who thought so.

Eyes widening at the unexpected shift in mood, Xena took a moment to re-evaluate her bearings and growled, "Ares-"

Caught up in one of the first pleasant feelings of this time around the mortal misery-loop, Ares held up one hand to wave Xena back. "Just a minute-" she was astonished enough to actually wait for a reply.

"Xena," he began, when it became clear that Xena and his idiotic half brother were growing tired of waiting, "Xena, do you really think I'd write you a letter? Or that I'd give it to that bumbling idiot?"

Startled, Xena had to admit that his points were valid. "Then..." Ares wasn't exactly the only person with access to his temples, and she could think of only one person who was crazy enough to entrust Joxer with a message.

Unrolling the parchment hastily, an unbidden exclamation left Xena's lips, "Gab-" then died as she read further. Slowly, her look hardened until she finished reading and threw down the parchment in disgust. "We're leaving."

Not sparing a look for the others present, Xena stalked towards Argo.

Feeling completely out of the loop, it was Hercules who reached for the discarded parchment, and, with Ares looking over his shoulder, read the contents.

Xena,  
We have been requested to inform you that the bard, Gabrielle, is no longer in our care at the temple to the god of war in Amphipolis.

Hercules glared at Ares, as though it could somehow still be all his fault. Ares simply shrugged and turned to follow Xena, "Uh..." he winced under her suddenly sharp gaze, "Where're we going?"

"To Amphipolis. For answers." Swinging onto the saddle, her gaze dared the others to question her.

x x x

The rain had started around noon. By the time they had made it to Amphipolis they were not only soaked but starving. "Why don't you three just go into the tavern? I'm going to put Argo in the stables." Xena started to pull Argo toward the stables.

Ares' voice stopped her, "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, the temple's only on the other side of town. We're already soaked. What's the difference?"  
Xena rolled her eyes, "I know Gabrielle. She would have stopped by my mother's inn if she was here. Now go inside and don't cause any trouble." Xena continued down the deserted road.

"Great." Ares voice was filled with sarcasm.

Hercules smirked, "What's the matter? The god of war afraid of Xena's mommy?"

Ares just kept walking toward the inn, "Excuse me. I mean it's not like she chopped her husband into little pieces with an ax. Or like I tried to have her daughter kill her. I don't know about you but I've met Xena's mother. The fact that she gave birth to Xena should be enough to tell you that you shouldn't underestimate her."

Joxer was the first to enter the inn. He quickly seated himself at the corner table. Hercules and Ares followed him. "I'm Tilly. So what will the three of you have?" She smiled at the men.

Hercules answered, "We'll take three ale."

"That all? Ok, I'll be back in a minute." She hurried away to the bar.

Xena entered the tavern, her right side caked in mud. Ares couldn't help but chuckle. Xena glared at him and he shut up, quickly. She made her way to the table. Hercules tried to suppress a smile, "What happened to you?"

She avoided her companions' eyes. "I tripped."

Ares burst out laughing again while Joxer couldn't help but chuckle.

Tilly came to the table carrying the three ale Hercules had ordered. "Sorry for the wait, boys." She set the drinks down and looked to Xena. "Hello."

Xena looked at the girl. Not recognizing her, she figured she was new, "Hi. Is Cyrene here?"

The girl looked Xena up and down, then answered, "Yes, she is. I'll be right back." She made her way to the back of tavern, being sure to avoid the already drunk villagers.

Moments later Cyrene made her way out of the back room only to hurry to the table after spotting Xena. She went to engulf her daughter in a hug but stopped when she realized she was covered in mud. "Xena! Honey, what happened to you? I didn't know you were coming. Look at you! You're covered in mud. Why don't you go right upstairs and take a bath and I'll send some soup up to your room. I don't want you to get a cold." Joxer and Hercules chuckled at Cyrene's motherly instincts.

"Hi, Mom, it's nice to see you, too." Xena smiled at her mother.

Cyrene turned to Hercules and Joxer, "And who are your friends?"

Hercules stood, "Hello, Cyrene. I'm Hercules, this is…"

"Joxer…Joxer, the mighty, at your service." Joxer stood up, only to trip and land face first.

Ares chuckled, which only gained Cyrene's attention. And with her attention came a look to rival that of one of Xena's deadly glares. "What are you doing here?"

Ares cleared his throat, "Um…look, about that thing...um…"

"He's mortal, Mom. He has to help us defeat Dahak in order to get his godhood back."

Cyrene broke her stare and looked to Xena. "Wait, you're helping him get his godhood back? Exactly why?"

"That's what I said," Hercules interrupted.

"Because…Mom, it really doesn't matter." Xena's eyes pleaded with her to drop it.

Cyrene nodded. "You said Dahak. Gabrielle was here a couple of days ago and mentioned him. I told her she should stay but she said she needed to get some stuff done."

Xena smiled, "What else did she tell you, Mom?"

"Just some stuff about a dream she had. I'll tell you but first you have to get upstairs, take a bath and change into some warm clothes before you catch a cold." She pushed Xena toward the stairs. "I'll get your friends into some rooms." Xena started to protest, but Cyrene looked her in the eyes. "Now, young lady." Xena started up the stairs.

Cyrene turned to her three male guests. "Now, I only have two rooms left, so two of you will have to share." She turned to Joxer. "Joxer, is it? I'll get you something for your nose and have Tilly bring the three of you some soup. After that you can go up to your rooms, the one at the end of the hall on the right and the forth one on the left. Xena's room is the forth on the right, but if you need anything, ask me." She smiled, turned, and made her way back to the kitchen.

Joxer looked down at his drink. "Gods, she is a bit scary. Anyway I'll take the room across from Xena."

Hercules and Ares looked at Joxer. Ares decided to speak. "What makes you think you get the room by yourself?" Ares' voice was smug. Hercules nodded.

Joxer looked from one to the other, "I…I'm injured." He smiled weakly, "Plus, you two are brothers."

Ares growled, "Half-brothers."

"It doesn't matter. This way you can keep an eye on each other. Right?" Joxer let out a breath, relieved he didn't have to spend the night with either one of them. He was starting to think Ares wasn't the only one who didn't like him.

Hercules finished his drink, "Then that's settled."

Tilly made her way back to the table with four bowls. "Hey, boys. Here's your soup and some homemade banana bread."

"Thank you." Tilly nodded at Hercules and made her way to another table.

Ares looked at the soup and banana bread. "Are you sure she didn't poison it?"

Hercules and Joxer exchanged glances. The three just stared at the food.

x x x

Xena forced herself to down the last of the thick stew. It was as delicious as ever, but its flavor was lost to Xena as she paused with the spoon halfway back to the bowl.

They'd only been traveling together for a fortnight when Gabrielle had asked her what her favorite food was. Xena, worrying about the giant's tracks they'd passed in the woods, thought nothing of the question, and she'd in fact forgotten about it until Gabrielle, looking pleased despite the spots of grease on her clothing, set down an enormous, steaming bowl of beef stew in front of her.

Xena frowned. _Where was Gabrielle?_

A knock at the door startled her, and the spoon dropped into the bowl.

"Xena?" Cyrene said, pushing open the door.

"Mom? Is something wrong?" She glanced out the window. "It's past midnight."

"I don't like to pry, but your friend is downstairs, steadily drinking himself into the ground."

With a sigh, Xena picked up her bowl and headed for the door. "Who? Joxer?" It had long been obvious that the poor man was in love with Gabrielle. She couldn't blame him for wanting to drown his sorrows. 

"No, Ares."

Xena blinked, and hurried down to the common room. Ares sat at the bar, a tankard of cheap beer in front of him as he swiveled around to regard Xena blearily.

She put the bowl down. "Ares, what did I tell you about hangovers?" she said in the gentle, slow voice reserved for those teetering on the edge of alcohol poisoning.

"Go 'way," he grunted. "You hate me an'way. Leave me 'lone."

She took the tankard out of his hand, her eyes steady on his. "I don't hate you. I'm disappointed that you kept something as big as your marriage to Hope from me, but I don't hate you."

To her surprise, Ares' eyes filled with something like self-loathing. "Afraid," he spat out, "I was 'fraid."

"Of Dahak?"

"You don' know wha it's like; like fire crushin' and burnin' your brain. Like... death, in your face."

Xena managed to coax him off of the stool.

"I didn't want... I didn't mean to..."

Helping him up the stairs, she realized that he was trying to apologize. Of all the times to have a drunken, half-conscious, ex-god of war feeling sorry for himself. Maybe she ought to ask Hercules for help.

"Xena?"

"Hmm?"

"Sometimes, I watch you, an' I wanna come up behin you an' hold you an' never let go..."

Xena stumbled but managed to prop him against the wall outside her room. "What?" she asked, bewildered.

She could feel his mouth moving when Ares mumbled something into her hair, but she could make nothing of it beyond what sounded like her name. "What?" she asked again. "Ares?" He slumped against her shoulder, already snoring.

As Xena looked down the deserted hall, the door to the room Hercules and Ares were sharing appeared to recede into the distance before her eyes. With a tired grumble, she shoved open her door and staggered in. She deposited the ex-god onto her bed, across which he promptly splayed himself, knocking off several sheets. Fighting the smile that threatened to cover her mouth, she tugged off his boots and spread one of the sheets over his slumbering form. With the rest of the bedding in hand, she settled in a chair by the door and arranged the blankets around her. A breeze ran through the room, ruffling the curls over his forehead.  
He looked... normal. Annoyingly good, but normal.

Xena shook her head furiously. Bad thoughts, she thought. Not going down that road.

x x x

When Ares woke up, he felt as if he had been arm-wrestling with a Centaur (and lost). Even lifting his head off the pillow took an effort, and a painful one.

Closing his eyes against the daylight, Ares remembered with a shudder that he was supposed to be rooming with Hercules. He tried to remember whose bright idea that was, but it hurt too much to think and he gave up.

A voice reached him through the haze, the splitting pain and the jumble of his thoughts. "Ares? Are you awake?"

That definitely wasn't Hercules.

With an effort, Ares opened one eye and saw Xena's breastplate, gauntlets and boots lying on the floor. In his current state, this sight was more unnerving than encouraging.

He opened both eyes and cautiously sat up. The motion made the room lurch for a moment, but then, mercifully, it stood still again.

Xena was sitting on a chair across from the bed, but she was fully dressed in her leathers except for the armor. She leaned down, picked up her boots and started putting them on. She clearly had no intention of joining him in bed. Ares felt both disappointed and a bit relieved, and unfortunately also quite sick. With a groan, he sank back on the pillow.

"How are you?" Xena asked.

"Like the entire Athenian army walked over my head last night?"

Xena looked down on him with a wry but sympathetic smile, and Ares thought that he would never see anything so beautiful. He cursed himself for getting drunk.

Xena sighed. "Hold on, I'll bring you some potion … you'll feel better."

By the time she came back with a clay mug in her hands, he had managed to sit up on the edge of the bed, and the floor and the walls were almost steady. The potion was a bitter, blackish liquid so disgusting that the mere thought of it should have been enough to make mortals swear off the booze for life. However, it did help clear Ares' head -- enough to make him wince at his vague memories of the night before.

"Wait… is this your room?"

"It is."

He groaned again. "How did I get here?"

He thought there was a touch of warmth in her look, but maybe it was just the light and shadows playing tricks on his eyes. She said nothing, obviously at a loss for words, and he asked, wallowing in his own humiliation, "You brought me here, didn't you?"

She nodded slightly and he closed his eyes. "Tartarus… So you put me to bed. Great."

"Ares," she said gently. "You weren't well."

"Of course I wasn't well. I was dead drunk," he spat out. "You can't stand to be around me, can you?"

She took the mug from him, and he felt the touch of her fingers on his.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," she said. "We've got work to do. A lot of work."

"Oh yeah. Find Dahak. Kill Gabrielle. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, piece of cake," he snorted.

Her face hardened and it occurred to Ares, belatedly, that he shouldn't have joked about killing Gabrielle -- particularly so soon after he'd nearly gotten her killed.

"Let's go," she said.

Ares pulled on his boots and followed Xena downstairs. In the dining hall of the tavern, Hercules and Joxer were seated at a table having breakfast. With them was some cloaked figure whose back was turned to the staircase.

"Who in blazes is that?" Ares whispered.

Xena frowned. "I don't know, but we're about to find out."

As they approached, Hercules and Joxer looked up simultaneously. At the sight of his brother, annoyance flitted across the demigod's face only to settle into the benevolently smug expression that always made Ares want to smash his half-brother's face in. (At the moment, that impulse was best resisted.)

"Hey, Xena!" Joxer said excitedly. "And, um -- Ares. Look who just showed up! She wants to help us find Gabrielle!"

The cloaked figure turned. It was that blonde ex-Dahakette whose name Ares could barely remember -- Saracen? Saralyn? oh yeah, Seraphin -- and she gave them a sweet smile that, for some reason, left Ares seriously freaked out.  
"Hello, Xena."

"Seraphin." Xena eyed the petite young woman suspiciously.

"Don't worry. I've come to my senses now, and thank the many gods that I did. When I realized how blind I'd been to follow Dahak, I saw just what a good friend Gabrielle was for trying to save me. I want to help her." Seraphin smiled enthusiastically.

"Oh? What makes you think you can help her now?"

"I know where she is. I can take you to her! We can leave right this minute and–"

Xena cut her off: "What makes you think we're gonna trust you? Not two weeks ago you were just dying to bring Dahak into the world . . . literally."

Seraphin gazed back at her without the slightest hint of discomposure. "I have something for you. It's from Gabrielle." She held out a quill with a long, brown feather striped with black. "She told me to give this to you – that you'd know it was from her and that you would know you could trust me."

Xena snatched the thing out of Seraphin's hand, looking uncertain.

Ares continued to feel incredibly uncomfortable. It was as if this young girl knew him . . . but he didn't know her. _Or did he?_ He remembered their encounter on the road the other day. She hadn't looked at him like this then.

Hercules cleared his throat before speaking. "Xena, don't you think we ought to give this young woman a chance? If she's telling the truth, then she can help us, and it'll be a way for her to atone for her involvement with Dahak. You know how important just one good deed can be." He looked pointedly at Xena, who couldn't quite meet his gaze.

Ares, not one to avoid contradicting his half-brother when the opportunity arose (and definitely not wanting to go anywhere with Seraphin) broke in: "Xena, I've got a bad feeling about this. We can find Blondie on our own, don't you think?"

Xena glanced sideways at him, then looked at Joxer, whose heart was obviously being bandied around like a child's ball at the prospect of possibly finding Gabrielle. She had to decide one way or the other. She fixed Seraphin with a gaze that was both acquiescent and threatening. "All right. You can show us where she is. But the first hint of a trick, and – "

"Xena, I told you, you have nothing to worry about! I just want to help."

x x x

"Mother, please. That's enough."

"Xena! I just want to make sure you and your friends will have plenty to eat on the road. You've gotten much too thin, anyway!"

"Mother, I'm not feeding the entire Athenian army. Please, stop!" Xena protested vainly as Cyrene loaded another parcel of nutbread into Argo's saddlebag.

"All right, all right, dear. Just send word when you find Gabrielle, will you? I'm worried about her, too." She gave her daughter a warm smile and squeezed her shoulder.

Xena's expression softened. "Thanks, Mom. I will."

Hercules' tall frame suddenly filled the doorway. "Ares, Joxer, and Seraphin say they're all ready to move out when you are. Need help with anything?" His smile was friendly. Xena could tell he really meant it when he offered to help; that was something she had always admired in Hercules.

"No, thanks. I'm afraid if you offer to help Mom'll load us down with enough food that we'll be able to choke Dahak to death." 

x x x

Seraphin had led them out of the village, through a neighboring forest, and was now taking them through a ravine that was strangely unfamiliar to Xena. Finally, they ended up on a path that wound around some rocky cliffs, with a rather large patch of trees to the west. Night was on the verge of falling, and Hercules, seeing that Joxer was beginning to get tired, suggested that they make camp.

Xena asked Hercules and Joxer to secure the clearing they had found near the mouth of a shallow cave in the rocks, and to prepare the bedrolls. She would catch supper, and Ares would gather firewood. Seraphin was to stay with Hercules and Joxer, and was told not to go wandering around by herself.

Ares had been gathering wood for about ten minutes when he heard someone approaching from behind. He drew his sword silently, then quickly turned around to face – Xena. "Zeus! You startled me!"

"Oh? You ain't seen nothin' yet!" She smiled wickedly at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be killing something small, brown, and furry for dinner?" he asked, a little unsure of just what Xena was up to.

"I already did. See?" She held up a cord with three dead rabbits strung together.

"Then . . . what are you doing here? Why aren't you back at the camp?"

"I just wanted to talk to you alone, that's all. We have a lot to discuss, don't we?" Ares wasn't sure if she was going to talk to him or kick his ass. He gulped nervously.

"Y-yeah. I guess we do." He willed himself to look her in the eyes, but just then, she turned away. Before he could realize what was happening, all her armor was lying on the wet grass of the forest. She turned back to face him, now wearing only her leathers.

"Or maybe we've done enough talking," she cooed. She walked up to him and put her hand on the back of his neck, causing goose bumps to rise on his skin. Now she was looking into his eyes, now she was whispering something to him, now she was – what WAS she doing??

"Xena! What – " He grabbed her shoulders, trying to stop her from . . . whatever she was doing to him.

"Shhh. I've been wanting to do this for a long time." She wriggled free from his grasp and stroked his cheek with her hand. She started kissing his neck, his chest, his face.

Suddenly Ares felt ill. Something was definitely wrong here, although he thought that it should feel right, only . . ." He felt groggy, though he had had nothing to drink _that_ night.

"Stop it, Xena! Stop it. I don't know what you think you're doing, but I want . . . you . . . to . . . stop." His words came out slowly, as if he were losing control of his senses and had to force himself to speak very carefully. Xena did not react to his cries, but only kept on with her apparent seduction attempts.

Suddenly, he knew why everything felt wrong. That touch against his neck – the way that she was trying to kiss his chest – it wasn't Xena at all. It was – no, she was dead. It couldn't be her. Then his struggling consciousness brought to mind one single name, which made perfect sense to him in his last moment of clarity before his mind went dark. _Seraphin_.


	5. Chapter 5

Xena stepped back into the clearing where Hercules and Joxer were supposed to be setting up camp. Her instincts immediately told her that something was not right, and she confirmed this when she realized that Hercules and Joxer were nowhere in sight, and neither was Seraphin.

She was about to turn around and search for them when she heard a muffled groan coming from behind a rather large fallen log on the edge of the forest. Her sword drawn, she stepped silently over toward it. Peering over the side, her face drew up in shock.

Hercules was lying on his back, his large arms and legs sprawled wide around him. She grabbed a nearby torch for better light and returned to get a better look. Now not only did she see the unconscious (or dead??) body of Hercules on the ground, but she also realized that he was lying on top of something – Joxer. And Joxer was NOT happy about it – but at least that meant he was alive.

Xena awkwardly rolled Hercules over to one side, trying not to hurt him in the process. She checked his breathing and realized that it was still strong. _He's not the son of Zeus for nothing_, Xena thought, grinning in spite of herself. Seeing that Joxer was in pain, she decided to see to him first, now that she knew Hercules was alive.

Joxer, in the meantime, had found his bearings and was starting to babble semi-coherently. "Sera . . . Serpico . . . Seralin . . ."

"Seraphin?" Xena asked, gently questioning.

"Yeah, her. She . . . she did something . . . woods . . . a rock or something . . . snake eyes . . . said something about Dahak. Gonna get him. Find Xena." Joxer finally lulled into a confused silence.

"Joxer, it's all right. Just calm down. You've got a nasty gash on your head. I'll take care of it."

"But –"

"Shh. Let me have a look at that. Here, do you think you can hold this torch for me? Good." She looked at the blood trickling from Joxer's forehead. It looked like he'd run into a tree, or like somebody pushed him into one . . . hard.

Xena gave Joxer a cloth to press against his head, which was still bleeding, but not as badly as before. She made him lie down in a spot where she could keep an eye on him, and then she turned to Hercules.

She couldn't make out what had happened to the demigod, either, except that he had received a pretty hard blow to the head. Probably something coming at him from some distance away. His breathing grew stronger.

"Xena, there's something important . . ." Joxer tried to speak.

"Not now, Joxer, just try to get some rest." Xena glanced worriedly over at him. Poor guy. He can't even think straight, he's so out of it.

Hercules was starting to come to. His eyelids fluttered delicately – delicately for a son of Zeus, anyway. When he saw Xena, he sat up quickly and clasped her hands between his. "Xena, are you all right? Did you see what happened? Where's Joxer?"

"He's all right – " she pointed over at him. "And I'm fine. What about you? Are you okay?"

"I feel like I slept on a rock, or something, but I think I'm all right." He chuckled and smiled bravely at Xena.

"Not on a rock, buddy – on ME! But don't worry, for I am Joxer the Mighty! I can take it!" Joxer was starting to get worked up, and he began to hum his personal theme song, pumping his elbows in and out to his own music.

"Joxer, I told you to lie down. Please." Xena tried to soothe him, pressing gently on his shoulder to get him to lie down again. He cooperated, but just as soon as he did, he sprung back up again, grabbing Xena and shaking her by her shoulders. "Xena! You've got to do something! She's going after him! She's gonna kill him, I know it!"

Alarmed, Xena asked, "Who? What? What did she say?"

"Ares. She's – gonna get him."

The realization of what Joxer was getting at struck Xena like one of Zeus' lightning bolts. And before Joxer knew what was happening, Xena was gone, running like a banshee into the woods.

"Ares!" She called his name at the top of her lungs, all the while racing at breakneck speed through the small but dense forest. "Where are you?!"

She heard no reply, but finally she heard a noise coming from the north – it sounded like a wild animal in heat – only something told her this was no animal.

She hid herself behind a tree and struggled in the weak light to see what was making the noise. She froze when she saw Seraphin kneeling over Ares, kissing him. She was moving to unbuckle Ares' sword belt. Ares made no move to push her away. Xena's blood ran cold at the sight, then hot at the thought of Ares' doing something like this – _I should've known he was up to something_. 

Then she realized that Ares wasn't moving at all – She must have him under some kind of spell, then. A wave of relief washed over her, unbidden.

The next moment, Xena flung her chakram at Seraphin, who uncannily moved out of the way, then hissed at Xena before bounding cat-like away into the night. Xena caught her chakram and ran over to where Ares was lying, not completely unconscious, but in some kind of drug- or spell-induced haze. She held his head up on her lap and slapped his cheeks gently.

Ares blinked one eyelid, then the other. When he saw Xena leaning over him, he nearly jumped out of his skin. "Get away from me, you harpy! You're not Xena!" He paused. "What've you done with her?!" By now he was standing over Xena, and moved as if to run back to the campsite, when his legs crumpled beneath him.

"Ares, it's all right. She's gone now. It's me, it's Xena." She crawled over to where he sat, struggling to get back up. "Ssshhh, it's all right! It's me." She grabbed his chin and made him look into her eyes. She opened them wide, hoping that he would know the difference between her and a look-alike. "It's me."

Ares quit struggling, and a spark of recognition came into his still rather unfocused eyes. "Xena? It's really you this time?"

"Yeah, was I interrupting something?" She gave him a playful look, hoping to relieve some of his anxiety.

"Hah. HAH." Ares looked insulted, but then smiled, relieved that he hadn't just become the father to another quill-filled baby.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Now."

"I guess I should have listened to you after all."

"What?" Ares looked surprised.

"You know, you said we shouldn't trust Seraphin. You were right."

Ares shivered. "That chick gave me the creeps from the get-go – and now I know why!"

Xena helped Ares to his feet, then put one of his arms around her shoulders. "We'd better get back to the campsite to make sure Hercules and Joxer are okay. Do you think you can walk if I help you?"

Ares glanced at her sideways, and in the dim light she could see that he was grinning mischievously. "Yeah, I think so," he uttered, in a voice that was huskier than usual.

"Great. Let's get moving." She couldn't quite keep her lips pursed, and let a small smile slip out into the darkness.

x x x

They got back to the campsite to find Hercules and Joxer sitting around the newly-made campfire, anxiously waiting for Xena to return. Hercules had wanted to follow her when she fled so quickly, but he knew he couldn't just leave Joxer alone, and he wasn't feeling too hot, himself.

After some brief explanations were made and the dinner of quail that Xena had caught was cooked, they sat down to eat. Nobody said much, and everybody seemed hungry.

After Xena checked the three men over again for signs of more serious injuries, they all settled in for a much-needed rest, while she stood guard for the first watch of the night. She kept her eyes and ears alert and her chakram ready, but she neither heard nor saw anything.

x x x

The next morning, they decided to look for the nearest trail that might lead them back toward Amphipolis. Once they found their bearings, they would decide where to go next.

Xena had seated Ares, who seemed to still be feeling the effects of whatever had happened to him the night before, on Argo, while she walked alongside. Hercules and Joxer walked a little ahead to "scout" the area.

"So, are you feeling any better?" Xena asked with concern.

"Yeah. It actually feels a lot like that . . . what was it? . . . hangover thing I had after I got drunk. Not good, but I'll survive. At least you saved me from doing something I'd really regret." He winked at Xena.

"I'm glad you weren't . . . I mean, at first I thought . . . Well, she was kissing you, and – "

"You thought I betrayed you again."

"Well, only for a second; I mean, you haven't always been the most trustworthy," and then she wished she hadn't said anything. He didn't do anything wrong, and you still judged him for it. "Sorry. Forget I said anything."

"No, Xena, it's true." He looked down, pausing for a moment. Then he said, "Thank the gods you showed up when you did. Even Zeus!" He chuckled at his own joke.

But Xena didn't laugh – she had stopped short in a sudden moment of recollection. Something had been nagging at her ever since the episode with Hope and the Destroyer in the temple, before they had reached Amphipolis. Something she wanted to ask Ares. He had said something, but in the chaos of the fight coupled with her anger over his marriage to Hope, she had forgotten what it was.

"Ares, what did you mean when you said, 'He didn't'?"

Ares' eyes grew large, but he showed no other signs of understanding. "What do you mean?"

"Back at the temple. Hercules mentioned Zeus' taking your godhood, and you said, 'He didn't.' What did you mean by that?" Her eyes were concentrated on him intensely.

Ares avoided his gaze and cleared his throat, instead focusing on a nearby blue jay which seemed to be mocking him in his predicament. "I . . . nothing, I just said that to get him to leave me alone, that's all!" He tried to look sincere, but wasn't very successful.

Just as Xena was about to open her mouth to question him further, the pair was interrupted by a fountain of golden glitter bursting into the shape of Aphrodite. The goddess' eyebrows were knit together in a perturbed fashion.

"NOT cool, bro. You have to tell her!"

"Shut up, Aphrodite!" He hurled the words menacingly at his sister.

"Tell me what?" Xena asked, slowly.

"What he's been hiding from you all this time. Come on, bro, time to 'fess up! She has a right to know."

"Beat it!"

"Nuh-uh. If you won't tell her, I will." The goddess of love and beauty stuck out her tongue at the former god of war.

"Damn it!" He paused, looking between the both of them. Xena didn't look interested in hearing the story from Aphrodite, but looked like she might beat it out of _him_. "Fine! I'll tell her, just . . . leave us alone, okay?"

"All right, but I'll be keeping an eye on you," she threatened as convincingly as she could in her scant pink nighty. "Toodles!" She raised her fist and disappeared in the same cloud of gold sparkles.

"Ya gotta hand it to her, she knows how to make an exit," Ares joked, lamely.

"Tell . . . me . . . what, Ares?"

"Okay, okay!" He raised his hands as if in self-defense. "All right. Zeus didn't take my godhood. I . . . I gave it away."

"Gave it away? Why?"

"Dahak forced me to marry Hope, right? I had to agree to protect her and any of our 'children' as long as she lived. But that wasn't enough of a commitment for him. He ordered me to kill you."

Xena raised one eyebrow, but didn't seem overly shocked.

"Well, I kind of prefer you alive, ya know? But Dahak wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He planned to get his full use out of me as long as I lived, and then he'd get rid of me, just like he planned to get rid of the other gods.

"I had gotten really tired of being Dahak's lackey, and I knew it was just going to get worse. I figured as long as I was a god, he'd keep using me. So I . . . gave my godhood away." He looked up for a moment, but then hurriedly continued, "Everybody assumed Zeus had taken it. Zeus was pretty pissed about my involvement with Dahak, anyway, so when he found out about my new status as a mortal, he just let everyone go on thinking it. He even sent his armies out after me for good measure. I figure he'll cool off eventually. I never was the golden child of the family, you know." He spoke this last part with some venom, flicking his eyes in the direction Hercules and Joxer had gone.

Xena had taken everything in, and was stunned by what he had told her. Reading between the lines, she realized that Ares had basically given up his godhood to save her. Of course, he had been looking out for himself, too, but . . . still, he hadn't wanted to kill her.

Suddenly, another question entered her mind. "Ares, you said you gave up your godhood. Well, you can't just give it up, right? Someone else has to take it."

"Yeah." He seemed reluctant to answer her.

"So? Who was it?" She paused, afraid of what he might answer. "Who has your godhood now?"

Ares met her stare with fearful brown eyes. He hesitated, then remembered Aphrodite's warning. He steeled himself for what he was about to tell her. "Xena, when I brought your friend to my temple to be healed, she was pretty badly injured."

"Gabrielle? What's she got to do with this?" Xena's voice trembled when she spoke.

Ares knew that he had to go on now. He cleared his throat, then spoke: "The temple healers said she probably wouldn't make it."

The horror of realization was beginning to dawn on Xena, though she was determined to hear everything. She waited for him to go on.

Ares continued, "So I . . . I figured . . . She's a goody-goody, right? She won't use her powers to hurt anybody. Plus, Dahak will never suspect she's a goddess as long as she never uses her powers anyway. And I figured it was partly my fault she almost got killed, anyway, so I owed it to her . . ."

Xena spoke slowly. "What . . . are . . . you . . . saying?" She didn't want to hear what he was going to say, but she knew she would have to if she wanted to know what had happened to Gabrielle.

Ares took a deep breath, then spoke. "Your friend . . . Gabrielle . . . is a goddess."

"A goddess."

"Yes. She's the new goddess of war."


	6. Chapter 6

Xena stared at him for a few moments in stunned silence, then began walking again, leading Argo behind her.

After a few minutes had passed, she said, "But I thought Zeus said he'd give you your godhood back if you helped defeat Dahak."

"He did. He can restore it to me any time he wants, even though I gave it away. But now that I've given my godhood to Gabrielle, I can't take it back. She can give it to someone else, or Zeus can take it from her, but she can't give it back to me. Or if I get my godhood back through some other means, she won't be a goddess anymore."

"Great."

In the silence that followed, Xena continued walking, while Ares anxiously watched her from atop Argo, not sure if he should expect the anger he still kind of figured was coming. He knew Xena better than to assume her silence was a good thing.

Still, Ares had almost resigned himself to having narrowly escaped the Wrath of Xena, when she stopped dead and rounded back on him - eyes flashing in a particularly dangerous way. "Ares..."

That was the evil purr. He backed away as inconspicuously as possible and tried for an innocent shrug. "Yeah?"

Sparing a glance to make sure that Joxer and Hercules were still out of immediate earshot, Xena reigned in the thoughts that she'd been sorting through for the last few minutes. She'd learned the hard way that, when time permitted, shocking news was best sorted out in small portions. "If Gabrielle's taken your place... Explain to me why we've spent the last week traipsing around Greece looking for her when I could have just called her? Answer carefully."

With the newfound respect that mortal Ares had for the look in Xena's eyes, he quickly reminded himself that keeping anything from Xena was detrimental to his health. It was kind of hopeful that she hadn't killed him yet. "Your friend was pretty out of it... like I said... but I did manage to talk to her after, before Zeus found out and sent out his armies." That whole span of three seconds ... Thanks, Dad.

Xena was tapping her foot against the ground and, seeming to sense the shift in moods, Argo was neighing irritably, but they both seemed determined to let him finish. The way his day was going, Ares figured the damn horse would probably throw him, even if Xena didn't.

"This isn't some wild goose chase, Xena." She raised one eyebrow in response. "If Blondie uses her - my powers, Zeus isn't going to be the only one to notice. Which is why I figured she'd stay in the temple, where it was safe."

Predictably, Xena caught on quickly. "So, if I were to, say, yell 'Gabrielle, Goddess of War,' really loudly..."

"Dahak would know. Well, I mean, if she responded." Ares shrugged, caught up in mental calculations of how exactly that worked, and how much of a tip-off Dahak really would need. "I imagine the Bard's status is a lot more interesting to Dahak than mine right now."

Grudgingly, a half smile quirked at Xena's lips. She had to give Ares credit, sometimes he actually kind of thought things through. If she ignored the part about her best friend suddenly being the goddess of war. "At least I can now cross off 'dead' and 'corrupted' from my list of concerns about Gabrielle."

Amazed at how this new development hadn't somehow made him further the bad guy, Ares took a moment to reply. Finally, he offered a small smirk, considering how much his head still hurt, "Yeah. Now, would you please explain all this to Argo before she throws me?"

"Nuh-uh, mister," Xena grinned at both Ares and Argo, "you're on your own there." She shrugged and picked up the pace, Argo dutifully walking a little faster. "We've gotta catch up with Joxer and Hercules and fill them in."

x x x

It was high afternoon by the time the group made their way back into Amphipolis. Most of the day had been spent finding their way out of the dense maze Seraphin had managed to stick them in.

As Xena stood staring at her hometown, yet again, she consoled herself that at least she could honestly say she now knew every inch of the area surrounding Amphipolis. And then some.

After discussing the situation with Hercules and Joxer, and waiting for Joxer to recuperate, they'd decided to go back to the original plan: Check out Ares' temple in Amphipolis and see if Gabrielle had left any clues to her whereabouts.

Besides, Xena really didn't want to have to explain all this to her mother and end up loaded down with even more food.

From his spot atop Argo, Ares didn't look any happier than Xena to be back in Amphipolis. Or maybe that was his joy at the prospect of entering one of his own temples - while mortal. Again.

Xena smirked, Hercules sighed, Joxer stepped bravely forward into the temple, and Ares rolled his eyes as he dismounted the horse.

The sole priestess in the antechamber paused in the act of lighting a rack of the drippy candles that Ares favored, and she stared, horrified, at Joxer.

"You!"

Joxer swiveled his head wildly. "What? Me? What?"

The priestess had already rushed from the room, screeching, "Sir! Sir! He's back, sir!"

There was an answering scream. "He's back?"

"He's back!"

"Hide the breakables!"

Dull thuds and flurried footsteps filtered out from the altar room, and Ares turned to Joxer. "Care to explain?" he growled.

"Well-- I-- uh--" Joxer stammered, inching back under Ares' glare. "I was getting the message, right? And I-- well..."

"You what?"

"I knocked over some things. Tiny things. Practically unnoticeable. An urn. Um, some ashes."

"You spilled Achilles' ashes?"

Joxer stuttered frantically, but to his relief, Xena stepped between the two and restrained the ex-god. "Ares! We don't have time for this."

Ares stalked sullenly into the next room, only to have his way barred yet again, this time by the high priest and a row of black-haired, blue-eyed priestesses.

Hercules shook his head disdainfully. "I'm sensing some sort of pattern, here."

"What?"

Hercules pointed to priestesses. "Ares, they all look like Xena."

"Well excuse me for having preferences."

"Who are you?" the priest demanded, "and how dare you bring that-- that natural disaster in here?"

"We're not looking for trouble," Xena said hastily. "We just want some infor--"

"Leave now or suffer the wrath of Ares!" the priest interjected.

Ares had had enough. He drew his sword. Just then, a spark of recognition flickered into the priest's eyes as they fell upon Ares' silver ring.

"Lord Ares?" the priest breathed, awe breaking over his face like a sunrise. "Welcome to this humble house, my lord. Please punish your servant for his inability to recog--"

"Oh, shut up."

Xena laid a calming hand on Ares' arm before addressing the priest. "We're looking for any information about a young woman who was in the care of this temple recently. Her name's Gabrielle."

"Gabrielle? We cared diligently for her, night and day. When the young lady contracted a fever, this servant stayed--"

"Just tell us what happened to her. Please."

"The goddess Athena appeared and took the young lady to a safe place. She'd healed by then. Miraculously, it appeared."

Xena nodded gratefully, already turning to the door before the priest finished speaking. As the group left the gloom of the temple, she looked towards the still-fuming Ares. "Why would Athena take Gabrielle?"

He shrugged. "She probably wanted to help. She's always said that you should have gone to her instead of me, but that's just Athena and her over-sized ego. She knows you belong to me."

"Ares, I don't belong to anyone." She sounded resigned. "How's your head?"

"That little blonde witch left me with a wonderful headache. Oh, I'm loving it."

"Xena," Joxer clanged as he stumbled, "where are we going now?"

"Where else? To see Athena."

The four of them left the temple in silence. Ares suddenly encountered a strange feeling…more of a thought, really. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something… He thought back of the time they had spend in the inn and suddenly remembered something. He only prayed that wasn't the headache playing tricks on him…

Clearing his throat, he hurried his pace to catch up with Xena. "Xena?"

He got no answer as Xena was obviously lost in her own world of thoughts again. "Xena…" For a minute, Ares considered touching her shoulder or grabbing her arm or something…but he didn't want to risk a sudden thrashing as she was too deep in her thoughts and might be caught off guard for a second. "XE…"

"I heard you, Ares…the first time." Xena said, calmly. "What is it?" 

"Your mother."

"Come again?" Xena turned to face the ex-war god. She stared at him with a look that somehow mixed 'what about her?' and 'I swear if you mess with me…'

Ares swallowed, then spoke. "When we were at the inn, a couple of days ago, your mother said she had seen Gabrielle. She said something about a dream…and the fact that the bard had some things to do." 

"So?"

"Then why would she go follow Athena?" 

Joxer took a step closer to the two warriors. "I…maybe Athena offered to help her…with whatever that is…you know?" 

Ares sighed at the wannabe warrior's interruption. "Shouldn't you go ruin another temple or something?"

"Ares!" yelled Hercules. But Ares only rolled his eyes and focused his attention back to his Warrior Princess.

"Look…all that I'm saying is, ever since you came on to me and you didn't turn out to be you…I don't trust things anymore."

Xena thought for a moment. She never thought she'd say this…but Ares could have a point there. "You're trying to tell me things aren't the way they seem?"

Ares shrugged. "Yes. Could be." Very calmly, almost…lovingly. Well, as lovingly as an ex-war god could muster in a situation like this. Actually, it was a tone he used to use around her a lot in the old days, indicating her that he meant no harm, that he wasn't in the mood for games or tricks…that he was serious and truly meant what he was saying.

This had Xena plastered for about…a third of a second. "We're still going to Athena. If you're right, Ares, and it wasn't Athena that took Gabrielle along…we'll know soon enough."

Ares nodded. Fair enough. At least she'd listened to him and treated him as a partner in this conversation. When he started this, he had expected 'shut up' as an answer…maybe even delivered in choir…

x x x

Shortly thereafter, they reached the temple of Athena in Amphipolis. Taking a deep breath and with only the though of Gabrielle's safety in her heart, Xena climbed the big stairs leading toward the temple gate…followed closely by Ares…followed by Hercules…and, last but not least, followed by Joxer. 

Xena had high hopes now. But as soon as she touched the handle to open the gate, an electric current shot through her and she was thrown half way across the village square.

"What in Tartarus?!" Xena rubbed the back of her head as she tried to peel herself from the ground. Hercules quickly came to her aid. She graciously took his hand and pulled herself up, noticing the slight blur in her vision.

Ares looked from Xena to the gates. After seeing that 'Jerkules' helped Xena to her feet, he approached them. He slowly reached towards to handle, only to see a spark extend to his hand. He quickly pulled his hand to his chest, feeling the shock run up his arms. Xena and Hercules were now standing behind him as Joxer stumbled up the staircase. Hercules extended his hand to the handle only to see another spark. "What is going on here?" Hercules' voice questioned.

Ares glanced back at his half-brother. "I guess my dear sis doesn't want visitors." He started to make his way down the stairs, only to be pulled back by the collar of his vest. He was now mere inches from Xena's face. "Oh, no you don't Ares. Call Athena. Now!"

Joxer hesitated before he spoke, "Um, Xena, Athena and Ares aren't the 'best' of friends. Why would she even bother to come?"

Ares shook his head, "The fool is right. What makes you think she'd come if I called? You'd have better chances with Jerkules over there."

"Oh, she'll come!! Trust me." Xena's face twisted into a very menacing look that frightened the former god. "Mostly due to the fact that you will be begging her to get down here."

Ares' face was full of shock, "You wouldn't." Xena smiled sweetly back at him.

"You would? Xena I happen to be the one that saved your friend from a pit of lava."

Xena's face showed no emotion. "It's your fault she even jumped into the pit!" The volume of her voice slightly rose towards the end of the sentence.

Ares had no intent of moving or saying anything. "Ares." Xena growled. Her face grew dark.

"Fine!" He really didn't feel like possibly having any of his anatomy removed by her chakram. Ares moved out of Xena's grasp and looked around to make sure no other mortals were in sight. "Oh…Great…" He bit his tongue and the word came out through clenched teeth: "Athena." Nothing. "Please grace us with your presence." Still…nothing. He tasted a sticky substance in his mouth, knowing he had bitten too hard on his inner cheek, causing it to bleed. "Even as I am not..not…wor..thy of your…divine…presence."

Gold sparks signaled the appearance of the goddess at the bottom of the steps. Her smile showed that she gloried in her victory. "Why, Brother, I never knew you felt that way." Ares rolled his eyes.

"Cut the crap, Athena! I want Gabrielle now." Xena's voice was low and demanding. She wasn't about to let some supposed goddess of wisdom take her friend without a fight.

Athena's expression was blank. "She's in there." Xena followed her gaze to the temple.

Hercules finally spoke up, "Well, then, why don't you go and get her for us? Then we can just be on our way."

Athena's look held some dismay in it. "I can't."

Xena rose an eyebrow and insisted on an answer, "What in Hades do you mean, you can't get her out? You're a goddess, for Zeus' sake. Get her out of there. NOW!"

"I CAN'T!! Don't you get it? Don't you think I would normally appear in front of my temple rather than in it? Who do you think I am? Gabrielle isn't the only one in there. Trust me, if I could, I'd get them both out."

Ares' attention peaked, "Who else is in there?"

Athena's eyelids fell as she spoke, "Nike." She opened her eyes to bore into Xena's. "When I originally talked to Gabrielle, she told me she had to do something and that she would meet me here." Athena gestured up to the structure. "I figured she could take care of herself, considering Ares' predicament." Her eyes made their way to her brother. "When she arrived in the temple I sent Nike to greet her. I had an important matter to attend to, but it wouldn't take me long so I didn't find it necessary to put it off. To my surprise, when I tried to ether inside, something was blocking me. I've been searching my scrolls ever since, trying to get through that barrier."

Xena looked skeptical. "Why not just ask Zeus?"

Hercules answered her when both his siblings rolled their eyes. "You don't just ask Zeus to help you do something. He has made it very clear that if he does you a favor then you owe him one."

"So?" She lifted one eyebrow in irritation.

"You really don't want to get in Hera's way when she's mad." Ares smirked.

"Great! So basically we have no way of getting in. And let me guess," she turned to Athena, "You know nothing about this barrier. Right?"

Athena looked insulted, "For your information, I do know a little, just from tests. We can't get in, right? But neither can anyone else. And I have been able to get a sort of connection with Nike through one of the mirrors in my private chambers inside."

"What did she say when you asked her about the barrier?"

"That was the only problem – I could hear her, but she couldn't seem to hear me. She did tell me that the priest inside had been murdered and she was keeping an eye on Gabrielle."

"Well, it's better than nothing, Xena." Hercules tone was hopeful, "At least we know Gabrielle will have Nike to help her."

Athena started to speak again, only to be cut off by Ares. "Um.. How do we know that this is not just some joke by another god on Olympus? I mean, it's perfectly explainable. You know, Athena, you aren't the most popular person on Olympus."

Athena interrupted, annoyed by Ares' remark. "This thing wasn't conjured by any of the gods on Olympus. I know that. It would have been possible to break it by now. Not to mention whatever this is that's blocking us is moving." As soon as the rock appeared in her hand it went flying into the air towards the temple. As it hit the invisible force, the ground showed a thin yellow spark that went along a line that moved back and forth. She focused on Xena again. "It seems to be somehow alive."

Xena looked at the rock for a while and finally looked at the goddess again. "Athena…Gabrielle and I have a very strong bond. Maybe I can reach her through that mirror." "I…" The Goddess hesitated for a moment, but mostly out of respect for the warrior princess and - even though she'd rather die than admit it - because Xena was currently watching her now-mortal brother's back, she nodded her head. "Follow me."

Xena, Joxer, Hercules and Ares followed Athena towards another large temple. "Demeter's temple?" Ares asked.

Athena cast him a wry glance. "Yes, something the matter with that? It was here I had some business to conduct when…well, when that thing took over my temple. Demeter was so kind as to lend me one of her mirrors to see inside my temple."

A shy Joxer took a step forward. "I…are these regular mirrors? I mean…could you use just any mirror to do that?"

Ares rolled his eyes, but at Athena's – and not to mention, Xena's – stare, he kept quiet. "No." The Goddess explained. "They're not. But the explanation will take too much time and I'm afraid time is not what we have…"

Finally, the five of them reached the mirror and saw Gabrielle and Nike sitting on the bed, the bard happily chatting away about one of the many adventures she had shared with the warrior princess. A small smile crossed Xena's lips as she noticed the enthusiasm with which Gabrielle told the story about the three titans she had set lose and how they thought she was a goddess. Chuckling, the bard added that it was ironical, seeing she now indeed was a goddess.

"Can I just speak into that mirror?" Xena asked.

Athena nodded her head. "Yes. Normally. But I told you, I tried…to no avail."

"Hmm. Thanks." Xena took a deep breath and tried to clear her thoughts. The only thing she focused on was Gabrielle. They had gone through a lot of things together and if there was one time Xena needed their almost psychic bond, it was now. Very quietly, she whispered Gabrielle's name. "Gabrielle…Gabrielle." But there was no answer. The bard just kept on talking and Nike sat there with a small smile, gasping from time to time when the story turned exciting. Not wanting to give up yet, Xena tried again, a little harder this time.

"Gabrielle…Gabrielle!" A hand touched Xena's shoulder. Ares.

"Xena…she can't hear you. At least now you've seen with your own eyes she's safe."

"No!" Xena pulled away from his touch. "No, damn you, Gabrielle! Answer or I'll…" Then suddenly...

"Shh. Nike...I heard something, didn't you? Xena? Xena, are you…are you there?"

5 pairs of startled eyes looked at the mirror and saw Gabrielle standing up, gently touching the mirror's surface as if it was somehow alive and going to bite her.

"Gabrielle?" Xena said hopefully.

"Xena! So it is you!"

Xena gulped back the tears that were forming – Gabrielle was really alive, talking to her this very minute. 

"Xena, you're all right? What is happening? I'm stuck here in this temple, and –"

"I love you, Gabrielle."

There was a brief pause, and then, "I love you, too, Xena."

Athena, never one for mushy exchanges of affection, coughed. She whispered discreetly, "Xena, we haven't got much time. The connection could break off any minute –"

Xena raised her arm to silence the goddess, and then, sighing, spoke again, into the mirror: "Gabrielle, are you all right?"

"Yes, Nike and I are fine."

"Do you have any idea what's blocking the temple?"

"No. We were in here and there was a flash of light, and then we tried to go outside to see what it was, and – we couldn't. When Nike touched the door handle, it was as if she had been struck by lightning. She was injured a little bit, but she's okay now."

Xena's eyes widened in horror. "Gabrielle, you didn't –" realizing this was the first time she had mentioned her new powers to Gabrielle, "you didn't heal her, did you?"

Gabrielle spoke, a trifle indignantly, "No, Xena, of course not. I haven't used my powers at all." And after a pause: "So you already know about that?"

"Yes, Ares told me. Listen to me. We are going to get you out of there. Just sit tight and we'll think of something. You've got another goddess of war, a half-god, an ex-god, and me on your side."

Joxer, never one to be overlooked, piped up, "And Joxer the Mighty!"

Gabrielle couldn't hear him, but she chuckled at Xena's words. Suddenly, the light in the mirror began to shift, and then all went dark. Suddenly afraid, she grabbed Nike's hand and fled the room quickly.

Still in Demeter's temple, Xena cried out, "Gabrielle? Gabrielle!" She paused for a moment, attempting to listen, and then muttered, "Damn! She's gone."

x x x

Half an hour later, the group was assembled again in front of Athena's temple.

Athena and one of her captains were deep in conversation, no doubt drawing up contingency plans in case Dahak should somehow enter the mortal realm or Olympus. Even if Zeus was Tartarus-bent on wasting his efforts chasing down his useless and so-not-worth-bothering-about son, she would be prepared for a full-on invasion. She wasn't going to take any crap from Dahak.

Joxer, in the meantime, was practicing looking "menacing" by repeatedly removing his sword from his scabbard (always somehow narrowly escaping slicing off his fingers in the process) and waving it in the air at some (mercifully) imaginary opponent.

Ares was alternating among looking askance at him, glaring daggers at Hercules, and making what can only be described as puppy eyes at Xena, but only when she wasn't looking.

Hercules and Xena were speaking privately, discussing their best options. Hercules clearly couldn't keep his eyes off Xena, and once or twice he touched her shoulder almost caressingly. If Ares had still been a god – suffice it to say

it's a good thing he wasn't.

When they had returned to the temple earlier, Xena had flung her chakram not once, but eleven times at the invisible moving barrier in front of the temple, but to no avail. There was just something creepy about the whole thing. Something creepily familiar, in fact, if only Ares could remember what it was.

Then he realized that something was missing – his medallion. It had been given to him, oh, eons ago by Zeus, back before he started treating him like an outcast. Ares still wore the medallion, mostly because it went with his look, but also out of habit, because he'd had it for so long – he could barely remember the story behind the silly thing.

But he wondered where it had gone. He hadn't taken it off, not even to bathe. Come to think of it, he didn't remember having it on that morning. He had been so bowled over by the events of the previous night that – _Oh, shit._ Just then, he knew that Seraphin had taken in from him while she . . . well, anyway, it was gone, and nobody else had had any reason or opportunity to take it.

He struggled in vain to remember the whole story behind the medallion. There was some secret magic in it that only someone with godly powers could wield. He wasn't much into big, elaborate spells – fireballs and the occasional changing his appearance to look like someone else – that was about the extent of his repertoire. It hadn't been much use to him since he had been mortal, not that he had ever really used it, anyway. Except. Except that one time.

He and his cousin Apollo, the annoyingly shiny one, had been teenagers at the time. They liked to occasionally venture outside of Greece and whoop it up and party with foreign gods. Zeus never got mad when they trashed their temples, and sometimes Olympus could be a bit stifling for two young gods just looking to have a good time.

Once, though, the pair had gotten into more trouble than they had bargained for. They were visiting Sumeria, and had accidentally offended one of the major gods there. Normally, there would've been an exchange of energy-filled balls of radiation, a village would be blown to bits, and then the whole thing would just die down. But this god had taken the insult personally, and refused to let it go, so he imprisoned Ares and Apollo in his hall of mirrors. For all eternity. Some gods just didn't know how to take a joke.

They had wandered around for about two months in the ridiculously elaborate and reflective maze, and had made many vain attempts to smash the mirrors and break through into the outside world. Ares, getting fed up with his companion and his white-and-gold-lamé outfit, took off his medallion (as it was the only projectile he could find) and threw it at him – or what he thought was him. Suddenly, the image of the Sun God before him shattered, and he was facing broad daylight. The two of them wasted no time in getting out of there after that, except that Ares stooped to pick up his medallion on the way.

After that, he had kind of forgotten about it – he rarely needed such things, being a god, and he and Apollo were much more cautious about traveling outside of Greece after that for quite a long time. In fact, they didn't speak to each other for a century.

Clearly, the medallion held some special power that Hope . . . or Seraphin . . . had been eager to get her nasty little claws into. Could it be that she had taken the medallion in order to prevent him from getting into the temple? Or did she have some other, even more sinister purpose in mind? Either way, he knew he had to tell Xena about it.

Xena and Hercules were still assessing the situation, when Ares hesitatingly stepped up to them. Xena looked at him inquiringly; Hercules, with thinly-veiled annoyance. Xena could tell that something was troubling him, but he was frightened of something, as well. Did he still know something about this that he wasn't telling her?

Ares cleared his throat, then spoke: "Xena, I just realized that . . . my medallion is missing."

"Yeah?" She instantly looked less interested. Surely he wasn't going to ask her to help him find his necklace when Gabrielle was trapped in the temple . . . ? Still, there seemed to be something important on his mind.

"My medallion . . . It has some kind of magic powers. I think Seraphin took it last night when she . . . you know." Xena waited for him to go on, with slightly more interest now.

"I think she might be planning on using it against us. Or maybe she took it to keep us from getting to Gabrielle."

Xena grabbed Ares by the inside of his vest and pulled him within an inch of her face. "So this medallion of yours has the power to get through that barrier into the temple?"

Ares now looked into her eyes and realized that she wasn't angry with him, just excited. "I don't know, Xena – I only used it once. But it had the power to break through the spell of a foreign god then. It might work against Dahak."

After a moment, Xena released him, as if only just realizing how close they were. She turned around, called over to Joxer, Hercules, and Athena. "Come on."

"Where exactly are we going?" Joxer asked.

"To find Seraphin. We're gonna hunt that bitch down."

x x x

Gabrielle poked at the elegant furnishings in Athena's temple irritably. Every so often, she'd sigh, walk to the mirror through which she had last spoken to Xena, and touch the surface, as if she hoped it would let her through. Finally, Nike was fed up.

"Just let your friends figure out a way to get us out of here, Gabrielle. Fidgeting won't get you anywhere. Just be patient and trust in the great goddess Athena."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Gabrielle said darkly, and gave the mirror's guilded frame a light kick. "I just wish I could see what's happening."

Nike peered at the mirror. "I think you can. If we can receive messages, we can probably receive images, too. Here, I'll try." She stared into the surface, her face furrowed in concentration.

"I see a ripple!" Gabrielle leaned forward eagerly when the mirror's surface dissolved into an image. A very close, very vivid image of a body that was very male and very naked. Letting out a shriek, Gabrielle knocked the mirror over backwards, and it shattered into thousands of pieces.

Sheepishly, Gabrielle glanced at Nike. "Sorry."

"Good thing it's magical. Come on, help me reassemble it."

"Oh. Fun," Gabrielle said wearily.

"I wonder who that man was."

x x x

That man glowered at a smirking Xena. "I don't see why I have to be bait."

"Because Seraphin was obviously interested in you, though the gods know why. Now take your hands away from there and get into the water."

"Why do I have to be naked?"

"You're pretending to be taking a bath, aren't you? Besides, it's a good look on you."

"What?"

"Nothing." Belying her words, Xena's eyes slid down Ares' chest.

He moved quickly. Before Xena could flinch, he was right in front of her, a hand on the back of her neck, another at her waist. "You like what you see." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

Gods, the man was seduction incarnate. She willed herself not to sway as she was hit by the heady scent and heat of his body and escaped his grasp when he leaned forward. "You really do need that bath," she said, waving a hand through the air between them. She grinned, but she knew it looked fake.

Turning, she vanished into the trees. Stupid, stupid, she berated herself. Of course she knew that she was attracted to Ares, but that didn't mean anything. Plenty of attractive men in Greece. Granted, none of them had Ares' intensity and—she growled. She shouldn't even have time to be considering this. Freeing Gabrielle came first. She just had to concentrate and, once she had Seraphin, make sure he never took his clothes off again.

In control. Yeah. That's her.

"Xena!" Hercules' voice cut through her jumbled thoughts. "We got her!"

Roused, she realized that she was much farther away from the river than she was supposed to be and, cursing a blue streak, whipped off back towards Hercules' voice.

"She just walked in!" Joxer reported when Xena returned, "like she knew we were here!"

"Seraphin," Xena said calmly, "where's Ares' medallion?"

The petite blonde only smiled a smug, unconcerned smile.

"Don't make me do this the hard way," Xena warned, unhooking her chakram with a hand. Then, she hissed with pain as it was yanked from her hand, slicing her palm and embedding itself into a tree when Seraphin narrowed her eyes pointedly.

Xena glanced between the still-quivering chakram and Seraphin, wide-eyed, and Ares scrambled for his weapons.

"Hope," Xena breathed.

At Xena's glare, Hope smirked, "What, Xena, didn't you miss me?" Her eyes focused on the blood dripping from Xena's wounded hand, as Hope took a confident, relaxed step forward.

And was met by Ares' stony gaze, sharp sword, and now clothed body. If anything, he looked less thrilled than Xena. "Hope," his tone made it clear that all bets were off. Resurrections tended to constitute loopholes in any contract, in his book.

Laughing, Hope stepped forward, "Don't fool yourself, Ares. Mortality isn't a good look for you. Neither is dead." Xena's eyes darted between the two, uninjured hand clenched around her sword hilt, but Ares didn't take the expected step back.

Her reappearance, brazenly donning his medallion, had given him a solid push to action. "Really? Because I'm thinking that dead is just so much more your color."

Frustrated by his firm stance and harder look, Hope paused mid-step, letting out an odd noise, reminiscent of the child she had once been, "Urghhh," her eyes narrowed, but she paused a minute.

Enough time for Ares to step to one side, and Xena to run at her from the other, kicking her feet out low and knocking Hope to the ground.

Not giving the girl-goddess-monster time to recover, they kept moving, trying to limit the chances of her getting a firm lock on either of their weapons, while Xena let out a sharp whistle to signal Hercules into the fray.

Hope recovered, eyes focusing on something other than the two mortals, and Xena's chakram retracted itself from the tree, and into Hope's waiting hand.

Now wearing one opponents literal medallion, and the other's symbolic one, Hope smirked.

Xena's eyes narrowed.

Ares lunged forward, his sword just nicking Hope before she threw him back, spinning, only to face Xena's high kick on the other side. And then... Hercules came barreling into the fight.

Glaring cross-eyed at two pieces that should have fit, but simply didn't, Gabrielle was beginning to weigh the pros and cons of using her newly acquired powers.

Con: Imminent death when her powers set off the radar for Dahak's spawn. Another con: potential lingering sense of Ares in using his powers.

On the upside, however, with the creepy mystical force that held her trapped in Athena's temple, with Nike, it was possible that the imminent death might take some time.

And the mirror would be reassembled.

Nike shot her a look, as if the goddess could sense her thoughts. Which, maybe she could. Gabrielle wasn't sure how all that worked anymore. "What?"

Sliding a piece of mirror together, and carefully sorting through the remaining pile for the next, Nike needlessly pointed out, "Focus on the mirror."

Gabrielle sighed, "I bet Xena's doing something a lot more exciting than this..."

x x x

Caught off-guard by the appearance of the third player, Hope turned to meet his body check, leaving her back exposed.

Back on his feet, Ares swept forward, hands moving to cover Hope's eyes while she was out of breath from Hercules' attack, betting on a vague idea that her new body might not be as powerful as the old.

Seeing their opportunities, Hercules struck out, catching Hope with a firm punch to the side, then ducking to avoid the loosed chakram in his direction.

The whizzing stopped.

Hand closing around her weapon, uncaring of the blood that was staining it crimson in the light, Xena advanced.

Struggling wildly, Hope finally threw Ares off and sent him hurtling into the trees, only to find the bloody edge of Xena's chakram against her throat. She stilled when a tentative push with her powers caused the chakram to wobble disturbingly closely to her throat, but not budge beyond that.

"Well?" Hope glared up at Xena. "Kill me. Kill me like you wanted to ever since I was born. See how you'll explain this one to mother."

A flicker of doubt appeared in Xena's eyes, and Joxer cried hurriedly, "Gabrielle knows that you have to be stopped! She knows what's right more than anyone I know!"

Hope smiled nastily. "But can I be stopped? You know what happens, Xena. Kill this body, I take another one; kill that body, I move to another... You can't win against me. I'll always be one step ahead. And you know what? I just had the most brilliant idea. I know where I can get my face back." She paused to let her meaning sink in. "So kill me. See who gets to the temple first. You can't get in. Only I can break my magical shield---Ugh!"

Hope had plunged her own dagger into her chest. She withdrew it, smirking triumphantly, and whispered, "See you soon, Auntie Xena."

Xena reached forward with a growl of frustration and ripped the medallion they had been seeking from Hope's neck. Tossing it to Ares, she launched herself onto Argo's back, her cry of "Let's go!" ringing through the clearing.

x x x

"Yes!" Gabrielle crowed in triumph and stood back to let Nike lift the reassembled mirror back into its stand. "Ok, let's see what Xena's up to."

Her last words were drowned out by a thunderous banging outside the temple. Gabrielle and Nike exchanged a worried look, and the banging morphed into a sound more like splintering and shattering. Finally, the cacophony subsided, and as Gabrielle watched, the temple doors shuddered and toppled inwards in a cloud of dust.

"Mommy?" said a young voice.

Gabrielle blanched. The last time she heard that voice...

"Mommy, she hurt me!" A little figure ran towards Gabrielle and wrapped its arms around her waist, burying its blonde head in her stomach.

"Who did? Xena?"

"Yeah. She ran towards me with her chakram, and..." Hope raised her head, the transparent flesh shrinking from her face until all that was left was a blood-soaked skull.

"She killed me," she whispered.

Gabrielle pushed Hope's arms off and backed away, her face a mask of horror. "Hope? What...?"

"She killed me, Mommy." Hope stared from her hollow eyesockets and advanced, her mouth frozen in a permanent grin. "She killed me, and now..." Her voice rose into a banshee's scream. "I'm taking you!"

The figure leapt for Gabrielle's throat, and Gabrielle brought her hands up instinctively.

"Noooo!" Gabrielle's yell was drowned out by Hope's scream as she was pinned in midair by an unseen force, and her feet began disintegrating into a fine red powder that was then sucked into the space between Gabrielle's hands. The disintegration process sped up until all that was left was the bloody skull, its mouth open in a scream that was cut off when the skull shattered and degraded further into red powder. The powder spun and swirled between Gabrielle's hands, faster and faster until it was drawn in on itself into a tiny point. It fused into a glittering, blood-red gem that spun slowly in the air.

Xena sprinted through the temple door, followed by Ares, Hercules, and Athena. Joxer appeared close on their heels, and tripped over the fallen doors in a crash like the tumbling of a wall of pots.

"Gabrielle!" Xena enveloped her friend in a tight hug. "I missed you so much," she said.

Tears appeared in the corners of Gabrielle's eyes as she hugged Xena just as tightly. "Not as much as I missed you."

Loosening her grip slightly, Xena said, "Hope was coming. She—" Xena sprang back warily. "She was going to possess you."

"She came," Nike said hurriedly. "She looked like a monster, and Gabrielle trapped her."

"Trapped her?" Xena's gaze fell on the still-rotating gem, floating before Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, what did you do?"

"I'm sorry, Xena, but she had to be stopped. I had to—"

A thunderous boom swept the ground, shaking the entire temple. Tapestries and weapons dropped from their places on the walls. Pottery shattered. Finally, the tremors subsided, and Xena picked herself off the ground, shaking off Ares' helping hand. "Gabrielle..." she whispered hoarsely.

Gabrielle remained seated on the ground, staring at the scintillating gem lying before her. "Dahak knows," she said, her voice as hollow as death.


	7. Chapter 7

There was no time to be lost in getting out of the temple. Xena threw the dazed and weakened Gabrielle over her shoulders like a sack of grain and yelled to her other companions to make for the door, and quick.

Even outside the temple, the earth was shaking violently. The group continued running until they reached the cover of the thick forest nearby, hoping that the trembling would somehow stop. It didn't. In the meantime, Xena tried to comfort a very distraught Gabrielle. "It's all right, it's all right. You're alive, and we're going to get through this together." Ares, paying no attention, was gazing intently at the sky, as if expecting something or someone to appear.

Hercules was keeping himself busy pushing away any trees that were falling in their direction, and Joxer couldn't tear his eyes from Gabrielle for a moment.

Nothing else happened for the longest time, except the tremors that shook them all to their bones. Then, a flash of exceptionally bright lightning lit up the sky, and then everything went dark, as if night had suddenly fallen.

Ares mouthed something which nobody else heard because of all the shaking. If they had noticed, they would've seen his lips forming the name, "Zeus".

The shaking stopped as suddenly as it began. There was complete silence for one or two seconds, and then the group could make out the faint sounds of something like moaning or chanting, and it was growing stronger. In the dim, they could barely see the figures of what appeared to be humans, many of them, coming through the trees. But it quickly became obvious that this was no welcoming party; the figures were moving slowly, stiffly, and their eyes seemed to all be glowing faintly blue. All five of them sensed the danger, and Xena helped Gabrielle to her feet as her arm reached for her chakram. It's no good – these are just simple villagers. They have no idea what they're doing. It's just like before, when they were chasing us to get to Seraphin . . .

Then Ares jumped forward, gripping Gabrielle by the shoulders. He fairly barked out, "Take us to Olympus!" Xena, sensing that there was no time to lose, and that maybe Ares knew what he was doing, nodded in her direction. Gabrielle nodded back, closed her eyes, and they all disappeared in a shower of emerald sparkles.

x x x

When they arrived on Mount Olympus, they found themselves in a large hall decorated in gold with lots of bowls of fruit, all of which were shaking violently. Odd. Hadn't the shaking stopped? There was a throne placed prominently against one wall, but there was no one sitting on it at the moment.

Ares spoke first, or rather, shouted, in order to be heard. "We need to find Zeus. He's the only one who can help us now!" He beckoned for the others to follow him, and Xena met his stride, walking alongside him. He felt the sudden, strange urge to clasp her hand, but then he thought better of it. Hercules picked up Gabrielle, who was still very weak, and carried her. Her small fist still clutched the red gem that was Hope. Joxer kept apace with them, not wanting to part from the bard-turned-goddess..

After a few minutes of winding their way awkwardly through the passages of Olympus, they felt the rumbling stop. Xena turned to Ares as they walked. "So what's this about, Ares? Why do we need Zeus? I thought you were afraid of him."

"Not anymore." His face was grim, and Xena noticed a dangerous determination in it that she had never seen before. "Zeus can help us get to Dahak. He has the power to create as well as to destroy . . . "

Suddenly, she had an idea of what he was talking about. Earlier, she had had an inkling of it . . . What was it? . . . off in my own little world . . . Dahak was in his own little world, literally . . . If there were some way to reach him, to create a realm in which he could be killed, then there was still hope. . .

After making their way through the endless passages which Ares seemed to know by heart, they reached a door. He halted, hesitating, now that they were so close. Xena looked at him questioningly. "What is it? This is where Zeus is, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then let's go in."

Ares looked to Gabrielle. "Only she can open this door – it's made for gods, you know." Xena realized that this was the first time he had been back to Olympus since he'd lost his godhood.

Gabrielle jumped down out of Hercules' arms and moved toward the door, closed her eyes, and the door was suddenly open. "Wow. I could get used to this."

Inside the room were volumes with books, flasks, jars, and many unidentifiable things. Over in one corner stood what looked like a rack of lightning bolts. Their eyes searched the room for a moment, and then they all saw it – or rather, him – Zeus was lying on the floor, dead.

Before they had time to check the body, a familiar voice from behind made them all turn around. "Tragic, isn't it? And at the worst possible time . . . Ah, well, that was our father for you."

Xena's eyes had widened with horror and were now narrowing in suspicion. "Athena."

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Xena. _I_ certainly didn't kill him."

Xena, looking only slightly less suspicious, walked over to where Zeus' body lay and knelt down to examine it. "Then just what in Tartarus is going on here?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me." The goddess' aquamarine eyes showed no signs of remorse, but something in them told Xena that she was very, very uneasy, despite her calm, collected façade.

Ares stood as if spellbound, looking at his deceased father. "Well, I guess that's it, isn't it?" He spoke as one in shock. "There goes our last chance."

Hercules, who was also having difficulty absorbing this new turn of events, turned to him angrily. "You mean it's your last chance to get your godhood back! That's all you care about, isn't it?"

Xena wondered if that were the case. But surely that was all Ares wanted, wasn't it? It's not as if he'd be doing all this out of altruism. She pushed the thought away momentarily, looking up from her examination. "It looks as if . . . he's been . . . stabbed."

"Stabbed? That's impossible!" Hercules said, and his hulking frame shuddered.

"Oh, yes. Xena's right, you know." Athena's lack of emotion was chilling.

"But with what? How can . . . " Hercules began to sputter, then stopped.

Xena finished for him. "The Hind's Blood Dagger."

x x x

Zeus' body had been transported back to the main hall of the temple, where the shaking had finally stopped. Xena, Ares and Hercules stood in conference with Athena while Gabrielle entertained Joxer by testing out some of her new powers. Athena was poised upright upon the throne, having taken over Zeus' position. The other gods, apparently, had disappeared.

"I always knew they were cowards. They all fled when they found out Zeus was dead. They transported themselves to an alternate dimension, which is apparently much like our own world," Athena explained.

Xena's eyes widened. If there were other worlds where the gods could teleport themselves, then maybe . . .

Athena looked at her piercingly, then said, "I know what you're thinking, Xena. Forget it. You can't get to Dahak in that dimension, either."

"Yes, but if there's a way to get there, then maybe we can create another way to reach Dahak."

"Create? Only Zeus had that kind of power. And he's dead."

Hercules winced.

Ares turned to face his sister. "Your sensitivity is touching, but don't you think Xena has a point? I mean, maybe Zeus' powers, or at least his knowledge, are still here somewhere."

Xena looked at Ares thoughtfully. "He's got a point."

"What about all those books in Zeus' room? We could start looking there," Hercules contributed, agreeing with his half-brother for once.

Xena, Ares and Hercules all looked up at Athena. "Fine. Waste your time. Search the room. It's useless, though."

Five minutes later, the companions were rifling through Zeus' room, hoping to find something that would aid them in their mission. Two hours, later, they were still searching, but to no avail. The books were full of arcane symbols and strange riddles, and the strange devices on the tables seemed to be keeping their secrets hidden.

Joxer, finally bored with his part of the search, which mainly involved "guarding" the door, wandered over to the rack of lightning bolts that stood against the far wall. He idly tossed the gem that held Hope, which Gabrielle had given him to look after (and to make him feel useful), into the air, and caught it again.

Xena and Ares were absorbed in searching through an old, dusty set of books on "alternate universe theories". Every once in a while, their hands would reach eagerly for the same page, and they would touch. Xena didn't even seem to be all that offended when he let his hand linger over hers for a few short seconds before he pulled it away. Well, the end of the world does have its perks, after all, thought Ares. And the next moment, he thought it really _was_ the end of the world, because suddenly there was a gaping hole in the room, and everything was enveloped in a strange purple glow. The book he had been looking at had been sucked out of his hands.

Xena looked over to where Joxer had stood, now seeing only the huge vortex which was pulling everything in the room toward it with an irresistible force. She looked around the room. Hercules was holding onto Gabrielle and keeping a firm grip on an iron ring that was affixed to the wall. Joxer was nowhere to be seen. 

A figure stepped out of the vortex. "Well Xena, I am the last hope you have of getting to Dahak." Satisfied at the stunned expressions on everyone else in the room, Callisto spun around to inspect her new surroundings.

"What did you do with Joxer?!" Xena yanked her sword free of its scabbard and lunged at Callisto, only to be caught by Ares' arms firmly around her waist.

He ignored Xena's scowl, "Uh, Callisto... somehow I'm thinking that you might need to explain just a little more."

Shrugging, Ares released Xena when it looked like Callisto was about to speak. The warrior princess, for her part, glared at Ares but made no further moves to decapitate the newcomer.

Noticing the look of anger on Xena's face and, having investigated her new surroundings fully, Callisto shook her head and tried her best to explain. "Joxer and I switched places, I guess." She surveyed the others in the room, "'Cause I think I'm in the wrong dimension."

At this, Athena and Hercules started paying much closer attention. Before the others could voice any further questions, Hercules piped up, "So you're Callisto from an alternate dimension?"

It was only as this idea presented itself that everybody took notice of Callisto's unusual dress which, until now, they'd thought was just some sort of joke. Callisto was wearing a soft white dress made out of a strange material, shimmering slightly, with a dark belt and a small bag attached to it.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" demanded Gabrielle, unnerved but unwilling to show it.

"Because," Callisto sighed and untied the bag and pulled out several spinning, shimmery objects, "I've been trying to get this portal open all day and, now that I'm here, you all have to come back with me."

By this point, Athena's interest was definitely peaked. "I suppose my first question should be how, but I'll go with why?"

Grinning at her newfound companions, this version of Callisto announced, "Dahak's influence has bled into my universe, but we need help stopping him - I'll explain when we get there, but you must hurry while the dimensional fabric is still weak." Seeing that the 'how' part would be the next question, Callisto hurried on, "I think the portal finally worked due to Joxer and what looked like a lightening bolt?"

The remaining occupants of the room took in this changed Callisto, her words, and the missing thunder bolt from Zeus' rack. But none made Callisto's hoped for rush to leave. She sighed and waited.

Xena glanced at Gabrielle, then Hercules, Ares and Athena. News that Dahak may have made himself known in this alternate dimension and that, there, they may have more of a chance at defeating him once and for all, Xena turned and nodded toward Callisto.

"All right. We'll come with you. Our luck hasn't exactly been in our favor here."

Gabrielle stepped up, touching Xena's arm. "Are you sure?"

"If we can defeat Dahak there then I don't see what we have got to lose."

"Then we have no time to lose," Callisto stated with a fair amount of urgency in her voice.

Callisto slung the bag over her shoulder and walked into the swirling blue vortex behind her. Hercules looked at Xena, a little unsure about entering the other dimension. "Iolaus and I had a close encounter with that dimension. From what Iolaus said, everything is completely backwards from our world. Sure you're ready for that?"

"We're sure," Gabrielle stated, stepping into the portal.

Athena looked at the portal, then at Xena. "I think someone should stay behind. Zeus is dead. I have to look after things for him. Besides, I don't want to leave in case Dahak somehow gets bolder in his attempts to overthrow us. I'll contact you if anything happens on this side of the portal."

Xena nodded, then walked into the portal, followed by Ares and Hercules.

x x x

Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules and Ares walked out of the portal into a dark and dusty room.

"Gabrielle!" Joxer shouted, running up to Gabrielle from out of the shadows. He hurtled himself toward her and wrapped his arms around her in a death-grip hug. "I thought I was gone for good!"

"No, Joxer," she said, patting him on the back, "we wouldn't let that happen."

Xena looked around the seemingly abandoned room, cobwebs hanging from the broken rafters, piles of old, broken barrels stacked against one of the walls, the contents of the barrels, broken glass bottles, scattered on the floor in front of them.

Xena turned to Callisto who was standing by a cracked beam holding up the roof.

"What is this place?"

"It's an old wine cellar. It's the only place I could find where the energy to open the portal to your realm was strong."

"Where do we go from here?" Hercules asked.

Callisto sighed. "We have to go to Olympus. There we can formulate a plan on how to deal with Dahak."

"Dahak...has he made an appearance yet?" Gabrielle inquired.

Callisto shook her head. "No, but you'll see when we get out there...Dahak has control of most of the populace. He's...infected them with thoughts of love and peace and changing the world."

Joxer raised an eyebrow, looking befuddled. "And, uh, that's a bad thing?"

"Well, it is when the leader, Althea, is really Dahak's chosen one, used to turn the people to Dahak with a belief that Dahak will be the savior of the world."

"How do you know this?" Xena wondered.

"Well, apart from the fact that I'm one of the only ones that have not succumb to Dahak's lies, I also have the ability to see into people, see their intentions, their feelings. That's how I know what Althea preached had been lies."

Callisto walked to the door and opened it. Dust flying everywhere, and sunlight flooded the interior of the abandoned cellar. The light was so bright that it nearly blacked out Callisto's form in the doorway, creating only a silhouette. "Let's go, then."

She walked out into a bustling street. Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules, Joxer and Ares followed. There were people walking around, going about their day. Everything seemed completely normal.

"So this is what Dahak's reign would have been like, huh?" Ares smirked. "You never would have guessed from the way he preached 'death to all humanity'."

"All is not what it appears, Ares," Callisto looked back at him. "Everyone may seem happy but there is something darker below the surface. Much darker."

Xena looked around at all the people, a concerned look on her face.

Gabrielle walked up next to her, shaking her head. "To think they would use peace as a cover for something darker. I guess even evil entities have to come up with more creative ways to accomplish their goals."

Xena looked at Callisto. "Callisto, who else doesn't believe the lies of Dahak? You must be working with someone."

"I am. The gods are on our side, well most of them anyway, as well as the Rebels."

Xena cocked her head. "The Rebels?"

Callisto nods. "Yes. Once, they rallied against the Sovereign when he was looking to take Zeus' life and make himself supreme. But then the Sovereign was trapped between our world and yours and the Rebels were able to overthrow the monarchy. The place belongs to the people and exists for the people now. They've done a lot of good. Their leader, especially. They made this place—peaceful, more or less."

"Not as peaceful as how it is now, I'm guessing," Ares stated.

Callisto shook her head. "No. We still had our problems—until Althea showed up and promised a perfect world for everyone. She claimed that she and her god could do what others could not, and the people began to follow her teachings without hesitation."

"They were under a spell or something, right?" Joxer asked.

"No. They knew what they were doing—they still know. But I, along with a few other people, know better. And we're going to stop Dahak."

"Where are the Rebels now?" Hercules asked.

"We've got a hideout in a cave beneath Olympus. That's where we're headed."

Callisto walked down the street.

"What's this leader like?" Joxer asked, catching up to Callisto.

She stopped and looked at him as Xena, Hercules, Ares and Gabrielle walked up. She smiled, grinning a little. "He's a lot like you, Joxer," she paused. "Well...in appearance, anyway."

Xena, Gabrielle, Ares, and Joxer looked confused.

Ares shook his head, disbelieving. "Don't tell me. We've got a Joxer double now?" Callisto nodded slowly. Ares shook his head. "Just what the world needs."

"Oh, don't make fun," she said to Ares. Callisto smirked and, for a moment, she seemed like the crazy Callisto that Xena and Gabrielle were so familiar with. "You'll be meeting your long lost twin in due time." She looked at Xena. "You both will."

Xena and Gabrielle merely exchanged quizzical glances, shrugged, and then walked on. The alternate-dimension Callisto was having them dodge in and out of some rather dark and dubious passageways, as if to avoid being out in the streets for too long. After about ten minutes, Hercules, who was walking in back, piped up with a question. "Callisto, there's something I don't get about all this. When someone in our dimension is killed, their double in this dimension dies, as well." The demigod glanced rather awkwardly at Xena and said, "You see, the other version of you . . . was killed. How are you still alive?"

This well-groomed Callisto turned around to face him. "Yes, I had thought of that. I have been able to see into your dimension for a while now, and I was able to step into the vortex you went through earlier, but only for a few moments at a time, not long enough to get through to you. You see, I already knew that Xena was about to kill her." She looked at Xena, as if to say that she understood, and that there were no hard feelings. "So when I saw that Callisto was about to die, I stepped into the vortex, and I survived. And I didn't even feel a thing!" She threw back her head and cackled, much like her double used to do, only with a true vivacity and richness of feeling which the other Callisto had lacked. This Callisto was very much alive inside.

Gabrielle spoke up. "But I still don't get it. How did that save you from dying?"

Callisto answered brightly, "My dear, the rules don't apply if you're in transit between two dimensions. That's pretty much the only way to do it, actually."

The rest of their trip was made in silence. They had made their way out of the city by now and were winding through some smaller cliffs that led up to a mountain beyond – Olympus.

Callisto led them into an intricate cave system which protected the hideout of the Rebels. They came at last to a door, which seemed very out of place in the seemingly natural setting. Their guide beckoned to Hercules to raise his torch to provide light. She then pulled some stones out of her purse and stuck them into the door in a particular order. They passed through another set of doors at which a Rebel guard stopped them, assuring himself first that it was Callisto who was leading the group.

Inside the Rebel camp, it was much brighter than in the tunnels, and there was a group of people gathered around a fire. One of them seemed to be telling a joke, which the others found hilarious. One of the guards tapped him to let him know that they had guests, and he turned around. He put out a firm hand to welcome the newcomers. "The name's Joxer. I hear you're interested in helping us against Dahak?"

The other Joxer stepped forward into the firelight, approaching his doppelganger. "Hey! You look just like my brother Jett!" he exclaimed, enthusiastically pumping his hand. Alt-Joxer looked from him to the rest of the group, then said, "Come on, we're about to have dinner. Let's get to know each other, and then we can talk strategy."

Xena and Callisto sat next to each other around the fire, relaxing after dinner, with Ares sitting on the other side of Xena. Sure, it was uncomfortable having a nice friendly chat with the spitting image of someone you had just killed, but there wasn't anything to do for it.

"So, I understand that we all have doubles here, just like you and Joxer do. So . . . " A wicked gleam entered Xena's eye. What's Ares' double look like? Is he a god, too? No, let me guess – he's a pacifistic shepherd." She smirked to herself at the image she had in mind of Ares, donning the simple robes of a shepherd, singing the sheep to sleep at night. _Kinky_. 

Ares looked at Xena as if not amused (although he was secretly pleased that she was wondering about him). "Ha. Ha. And I bet you're my shepherdess wife, who keeps me company and gives all the sheep silly frou-frou names." _Dammit, that's not a bad picture. What exactly would the Warrior Princess look like in a shepherdess costume?_ he thought, unable to keep back a wicked grin.

"No, not a shepherd, and yes, he is a god." Callisto smirked, glancing at Ares' black leather costume. "He's the god of love."

It took Xena a good ten minutes to stop laughing over this little tidbit. She insisted to the suddenly very pale Ares that she was going to have to meet this other version of him before leaving.

In the meantime, Gabrielle, Joxer and Hercules were getting acquainted with Rebel Joxer. The bard seemed fascinated by him and his amazing stories of their fight for freedom against the Sovreign. He told them of his time in prison, where he had met the Iolaus from their world, and, with additions from Hercules, explained how they had all worked together to defeat the evil half-god.

Joxer observed all this with a heavy heart – Gabrielle was looking at the man who looked just like him (well, just like his brother Jett, anyway), and she seemed to be eating up every word he said. _Just my luck that the woman I love falls for someone who looks just like me,_ he thought.

Rebel Joxer, though, seemed completely oblivious to any romantic interest Gabrielle might have in him. In fact, he seemed to distance himself from her a bit, despite his generally warm character, and her pleasant attentiveness. Hercules noticed this and wondered to himself if this might be because of his association with the alternate-dimension version of her – not exactly someone he'd want to meet in a dark alley, come to think of it.

After the group had spent some time in telling jokes and stories, and filling each other in on what had happened so far, one of the Rebels came up to the leader and whispered something in his ear. Rebel Joxer stood up, raised his glass, and called for everyone's attention. "Everyone, please, listen up. I've just been informed that we have a very special guest who's about to meet with us. I know that she has done some bad things in the past, but she's willing to work with us now that the Sovreign has been dealt with. In fact, she may prove vital to our cause. Please, everyone, welcome our new associate, Xena!" The crowd stood up as a woman entered, their applause not totally enthusiastic.

The warrior princess looked rather confused, as if the Rebel leader had been talking about her all along, then she saw that he wasn't pointing in her direction at all. He was gesturing toward a tall, dark-haired woman who was just entering through one of the side doors. Ares realized it a moment before she did, and nearly fell off his log. It was Xena. A bit less muscular, with a short bob instead of long hair, and enough eye make-up to make a banshee say, "Oh, honey, that's just tacky."

Gabrielle's mouth opened and closed itself. Joxer's just opened and stayed that way. Hercules looked over at Xena, worried about her reaction. She seemed to be momentarily stunned, then covered her face as if not wanting anyone to recognize her. Ares was watching the newcomer intently. Xena peeked over at him surreptitiously, unable to keep herself from observing his reaction. _Bastard's enjoying himself! _But then again, she had just been teasing him about his other self a minute ago. _Serves me right, I guess. I'm never going to live this down. If he ever brings this up . . ._ She envisioned the chakram leaving her hand and . . . _Focus, Xena, focus!_

The alternate-world Xena seemed pleased at the attention she was receiving from the Rebel crowd. She walked over to alt-Joxer, shaking her hips as much as possible in the very tight black sequined dress she was wearing. Ares' eyes followed her as she walked past them. Xena punched him in the stomach.

"Joxer, baby! It's so good to be here! I hoped you hadn't forgotten me." She batted her eyelashes at him seductively, ruffling his hair.

"Er. . . How could I forget you, Xena? You're . . . um, one in a thousand!" Rebel Joxer said, uncomfortably.

"More like one in a billion," muttered Ares, laughing to himself. Xena rolled her eyes.

Then the alternate-world Xena turned to the crowd, as if to give them a better view of her. She smiled and waved like a Miss Known World Pageant contestant. Alt-Joxer spoke up quickly before she could address the crowd. "You all know that the situation with the god Dahak and his followers grows more dire all the time. He clearly plans to rule our world . . . or worlds . . . through bloody force. His chosen one, Althea, helps to rile the masses in his favor, although Dahak only seeks to destroy them in the end. And Dahak's angels, Michael and Raphael, terrorize those of us Rebels who dare to try to reach those people. The only recourse we have is to destroy Dahak completely." At this, the crowd burst into clapping and enthusiastic whoops.

Alt-Joxer raised his hands to quiet the crowd. "One problem we have had is, of course, finding a way to defeat Dahak and his minions. This woman," he said, turning to Alt-Xena, "has seen the error of her ways and has offered us her assistance. She holds the key that we need to get to him." He moved aside to let her speak.

"Yeah, what he said." Alt-Xena batted her eyelashes again. "Like, the Sovreign is gone now, so I figure, why not help you guys out? You're good people." She winked at a man in the front row, who blushed. "So, anyhow, I lost the Hind's Blood medallion that . . . um, that I had before, but, ya know, that's not the only way to kill a god." She narrowed her eyes into cat-like slits.

"The Dagger of Helios!" someone shouted.

Alt-Xena looked slightly perturbed. "No, you moron, not that, either."

"A rib of Chronos!" yelled a woman in the back.

Alt-Xena looked askance at her with a raised eyebrow. "No. Somethin' else."

"The Light Chakram!" hollered Ares, excited at the prospect.

"Er, no, cutie-pie, that's not it, either." Alt-Xena pouted her lips at him.

"Then what is it, exactly?" said someone in the front row.

"It's simple, silly! I have the power to kill gods." She raised her fist, in which was clenched a round shiny weapon, and mimicked a slicing movement across her neck. Her eyes glittered in the torchlight.

The travelers from the alternate dimension all looked at one another, aghast. It was alt-Joxer who spoke first after this revelation.

"You say you have the power to kill gods. We need your powers to kill Dahak. But how can we be sure," he said, indicating the crowd of rebels along with him, "that you possess this power? How do you know that you can kill a god?"

Alt-Xena lifted her cat's eyes and addressed her audience once again. "Easy enough. I've already killed one."

For a moment, it seemed like even the torches gasped in shock. Alt-Joxer was again the first to speak to the dark-haired vixen. His normally cool exterior was starting to wear down. "You . . . you have? Wh-which one?"

"Zeus."

After the few seconds it look to process this shocking bit of news, Hercules and Ares both jumped to their feet. They shouted in unison, "YOU!!!"

At this, alt-Xena was visibly shaken, because before her (in her mind, at least) stood the Sovreign, whom she supposed to be trapped for good, and the God of Love, looking a lot more . . . rugged . . . and angry . . . than normal.

Hercules was like an avenging fury, only with more clothes. "You killed Zeus? How could you do that, you bitch?!" He ran up on stage, followed by Ares. Alt-Xena held her out the chakram to ward him off, but he knocked it out of her hand rather violently. "Why? WHY??" Oops. Not the Sovreign. The other guy. What was his name, again? Jerkules?

Ares, who was now up on stage as well, picked up the chakram that she had dropped. It was different from the one Xena had. It was encrusted with strange, ruby-like gems instead of pua shells, and had a design shaped like pointed waves in black against a silver background. His voice was calmer than Hercules', but the controlled rage in his voice was frightening. "Zeus was stabbed. I saw the wound! You didn't use this," and he looked down at the chakram in his hands, "did you?"

Alt-Xena mustered the courage to answer him, mildly comforted by the fact that this was only the God of Love. What could he do to her? Make her fall in love with that silly court jester-eunuch-fellow?

"It's . . . it's easy, I . . . I had this knife. Old man never saw it coming." She tried looking as innocuous as possible, despite her admission. Hercules released her, turning around and cursing.

The audience members stood up, all shouting different things at once, while alt-Joxer tried to quiet them down, urging them to return to their seats.

By this time, Xena was whispering urgently to Gabrielle and Joxer at the nearby table. While alt-Xena was facing Ares, Joxer helped Gabrielle escape to the nearest opening in the cavern wall. They couldn't afford to take any chances – who could tell whether Dahak hadn't sent this woman to kill Gabrielle, too?

Meanwhile, on stage, alt-Xena was running her fingers down Ares' chest, trying her best to distract him and get near that chakram in his hands. "You know, I could kill you if I wanted to," she cooed, "but you're kind of cute."

For a moment, just a brief flash, Ares lost himself in the thought of Xena's saying this to him, of her running her hands down his stomach. But the moment died when he met her face, which was cold and calculating, and had no trace of the warmth which he was accustomed to seeing there. He whispered back to her, "Yeah, well, I could kill you, too," but then his face hardened, because he knew he couldn't kill her – because then Xena – his Xena - would die, too.

And at that moment, he knew the proud warrior woman he knew was his Xena, whether she knew it or not. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. _Dammit, you fool_. _This isn't the time. You may lo. . . lo. . . have feelings for Xena, okay, but you don't have time for your urges right now.  
_  
The former God of War rallied. "I could kill you, but then, I prefer a challenge."

Alt-Xena raised a lusty eyebrow at the former god, and was just trying to think of something else provocative to say, when Ares noticed Xena beckoning – or rather, making a furious gesture with her head – telling him to get out of there. He pushed alt-Xena over toward Rebel Joxer and wound his way through the crowd toward Xena, who was trying to hide her face from her double. They made their exit through the same door that Gabrielle and Joxer had gone through.

x x x

Later that evening, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, and Ares were in sitting around a campfire in a small clearing near the edge of some woods that ran near the foot of the mountain.

"Xena, do you really think she's here to kill me? I mean, if she wanted to do that, don't you think there are more subtle ways to do it?"

"I don't know, Gabrielle. I know she's up to something, I just wish I knew what it is. She could be working for Dahak, or she could be working on her own, or something else entirely. But if she does have the ability to kill gods, and if she killed Zeus," she spoke softly, looking over at Ares with some concern, "then you're not safe. None of us are."

"That's not entirely true, Xena. She can't kill you." Ares mouthed the words quietly, looking into the campfire with a strange, faraway expression on his face. Xena wondered if he were thinking about his father. They had never gotten along, of course, but surely he felt something. Maybe I should say something? Or maybe Gabrielle could talk to him. She's better at that sort of thing.

Ares wasn't thinking of his father at that moment. He was thinking about that moment in the cavern when he had realized that this obsession, this attraction for Xena was much more than just some kind of godly phase. He was thinking that he had finally found something he never knew he'd been looking for – her. This magnificent woman who was taking care of him and helping him, who had helped him in the past, and who had no real reason for doing so. She just . . . helped. _By the gods, I'm getting soft as a mortal._ _But I don't think I mind it as much as I thought I would. _He thought about getting his godhood back, and realized the idea had hardly been in his mind lately – in fact, he snuffed out the idea like a dying candle.

Xena watched Ares intently all the time he was thinking these things. "Ares, I – I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"I'm sorry about Zeus." _But I'm glad you're still safe_, came the thought, unbidden.

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry, too." The bard looked at him thoughtfully, as if considering him as a human being for the first time.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," Joxer piped in behind Gabrielle.

Ares cleared his throat. "Anyway, we have to figure out what we're going to do next. Hercules is going to be back from scouting soon, so he can tell us what he finds out." Ares realized that this was probably the first time he'd said his half-brother's name without malice.

"And Callisto's got something cooking on her end, too – she thinks she can help us to get to Dahak," Xena added.

"And when we do see Dahak . . . then what?" Ares asked.

Xena had looked back toward Gabrielle, surprised that she wasn't being more chatty. It was then that she caught her in the middle of a surreptitious glance at Joxer, which held both confusion and the feeling of looking for something that isn't there. _Probably wondering how Joxer and his look-alike can be so different,_ she thought. _Although I can't exactly say much, myself!_

After this brief moment of reflection, she returned to the subject at hand. "Ares, you talked to . . . the . . . um . . . her. Do you think there's any way she's going to help us, really?"

Ares paused to think for a moment, then said, "I don't know. I don't . . . I don't trust her."

"Well, what did you . . . " Xena nearly blushed in the darkness. "What did you think of her?"

"Well," Ares answered the unexpected question without thinking, "she's no you." His voice was lowered as he spoke, and Xena felt an unbidden flush of pleasure at this sudden frankness. Then she pushed it aside, businesslike.

"So you don't think we can trust her?"

"Not as far as we can throw her. With an anchor tied around her legs. Of course, I guess "good ol' Herc" could still throw her pretty far . . . " They both laughed at the corny joke. It felt good, even though they weren't getting anywhere.

Gabrielle spoke up then. "I'm . . . I'm going to bed now."

"Yeah, I'm beat. I think I'm gonna hit the hay, too." Joxer added.

The two of them drifted off to their separate bedrolls on the opposite side of the clearing and left Xena and Ares to talk.

"Do you even think she has the power to kill gods? I wonder . . . "

"You think she's lying?"

"Well, I don't think she's telling the truth, and I don't think she's working alone. Maybe she still has a stash of Hind's Blood somewhere, and that's what she used – " She broke off. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Hey, I've been looking at this chakram. It's different from yours, see? Maybe it's got something to do with all this."

"Very possible."

Then a flurry of pink, red, and purple hearts interrupted their conversation. A man dressed in a white leather vest and extremely tight white pants appeared before him. He looked just like Ares, only without the facial hair and with a much more laid-back expression. In fact, it looked like Ares, God of War had been through a bleaching, scrubbing, and thorough drugging with henbane.

"Well, hello, handsome. Don't you two look cozy!" The God of Love beamed at them, jutting out his hip. "I hate to interrupt, but I just couldn't help but notice that, well, it's about time we were properly introduced!"

Neither Xena nor Ares could speak, so the god kept going. "My name is Ares, but I guess you knew that!" Ares, God of War, blinked as his double winked at them. "Now, I know things are pretty grim right now, but don't you fret!"

Xena finally managed to mobilize her lips into coherent words. "Uh, I'm Xena." Ares looked at her, still unable to comprehend this new and unexpected arrival. Then she burst out laughing, almost waking Gabrielle and Joxer.

"Xena, this is NOT funny!"

Xena broke through her laughter long enough to choke out the words, "Yes . . . it . . . is!"

What a day this has turned out to be! thought Ares. First I realize that I'm in lo-. . . that I have feelings for Xena, and urges, and . . . gods, now she's never going to let me live this down.

The god was growing impatient with their inability to speak. "Now listen. I know you two are planning on defeating Dahak and all, but you just can't do that without my secret weapon!" He had their attention now.

"Secret weapon?" Xena asked.

"L-O-V-E, baby! You know, the stuff dreams are made of, the air that I breathe, the reason for living! Love, ya gotta love it!"

"Oh, gods." Ares groaned.

Xena smirked. "Go on."

"You can't defeat Dahak when you're so . . . tense. You both need to lighten up! Live a little! Seize the . . . day!" The god was smiling intensely at them now.

"Uhh . . . yeah. Maybe some other time. We're kind of busy right now. You know, trying to stop an evil god from entering the world, that kind of thing?" Xena looked at him, wondering if any of this was sinking in.

"Dahak, schmahak! I know you two are busy . . . but now I think it's time to get busy, if you know what I mean, and I think you do!" He winked at them.

Suddenly, Xena and Ares caught his meaning and looked at each other in alarm. But there was nothing they could to – it was already too late.  
Their shouts of protest were cut off abruptly as a pink, heart-shaped bubble engulfed them and collapsed to a point before disappearing.


	8. Chapter 8

"What in the name of me is this place?" Ares snarled, kicking futilely at a sloping wall. The material gave slightly, but immediately bounced back. Their prison was tastefully, albeit pinkly, decorated with silks and furs, the centerpiece being the enormous circular bed that was literally smothered by soft pillows of all shapes and sizes.

Xena's tired voice wafted over from the bed. "Give it up, Ares. I already tried that."

Ares pulled away pillows until he found Xena. "You know," he said, "he's not letting us out of here until we... get busy, as he terms it, so—"

"Shut up." She sat up, scowling. "This is all a big game to you, isn't it? Ever since you showed up back in that prison three years ago, all you've been doing is messing with my head."

"If you hadn't hurt me by leaving in the first place..."

"You dangle me on your strings and feed me a wagonload of lies."

"I never lied to you!"

"Deceived, manipulated, whatever you want to call it. Wrap it in your pretty little words, but in the end--" Xena's hand slashed at a pillow angrily, and it flew off the bed, bounced off the wall, and landed on Ares' shoulder, where it immediately burst in a nova of feathers.

"Godsdammit, Xena!"

"Oh, shut up." She picked up another pillow and, with impeccable aim, dropped it on his head.

"How do you know that this wanton violence isn't making me more—"

This time, the pillow was in his mouth. As he spat a few feathers from his mouth, he heard a tiny laugh. His chest felt hot and tight, strange pride rushing through it. He could make her laugh.

"All right, that's it," Ares growled happily, and picked up a pillow.

The pillows had to be magical. They bounced off the walls with no visible loss of kinetic energy, but upon contact with skin, they instantly transformed into a flurry of feathers. Ares soon found himself in the middle of an expanding cloud of white. He carefully judged his shot, and sent his pillow rebounding off of the wall. Xena dodged, and he stepped into her path so that the resulting collision dropped them both onto the bed.

The shock of skin on skin stilled the warriors.

Frozen, they lay facing each other. Their leathers were gone, leaving only a thin shift on Xena and soft trousers on Ares. His hand was clasped around her wrist, and he felt her pulse increase. He tightened his grip when she moved to pull away.

"Wait. Xena, I was... wrong. To lie. I..."

His eyes were unguarded and open-- rich chocolate-- beautiful. Xena vaguely registered his breath on her lips, mingling with her own, before the sensation of warm smoothness. Full and soft, his mouth slowly moved across hers, and her mind was empty of everything except him. His scent, his warmth. She closed her eyes and imagined that it was just Ares, the man, and the god wasn't there anymore.

Of course, it was just make-believe.

She turned her head away and rolled onto her side, watching feathers drift slowly down onto her outstretched arm like snowflakes. After a while, she felt his arm slip hesitantly around her waist. Quietly, comfortably, they drifted off to sleep.

x x x

Xena woke the next morning to find herself in Ares' bedroll, facing identical rictuses of surprise on the faces of Joxer and Gabrielle, and she nearly dismissed the experience as a dream before seeing the soft white feather resting in her hand, fluttering in the breeze.

"This is not what it looks like" 

As she started to get up from his bedroll quickly and in the process waking Ares up, Gabrielle and Joxer's jaws dropped as they stared at her.

"Ahh, Xena I think you might want this," a groggy Ares said as he nervously jumped up to cover her.

To her horror, Xena was wearing a skimpier version of Aphrodite's Love Goddess outfit in Lavender & Diamonds. The material was of the sheerest kind she had ever seen. It seemed more like the jewels were glued to her rather than to any material.

"I'm gonna murder that son of a bacchae if it's the last thing I do!!!" Then she abruptly turned to Ares, who had remained behind her, and burst out laughing at his hot pink silk pajamas and the feathers in his hair.

At the sound of her laughter, Ares suddenly had no desire to look down. Cautiously, he braved a glance and instantly paled. _Pink!?!_ He was sorely tempted to agree with Xena's earlier death threat, before he remembered that, unfortunately, he was tied to that henbane smoking, pink-loving nutball. "Maybe we could just wound him. Really, really badly." He was pretty sure that wounding this world's God of Love wouldn't adversely affect his own person.

Both warriors shared a somber moment, deliberating both their costumes and the issue of doing bodily harm to the God of Love, when snickering interrupted their thoughts.

Simultaneously, they turned to see Gabrielle and Joxer snickering most amusedly. The two shared a glance before Joxer managed to get out, "Not what it looks like? You sure you two didn't pay a visit to my brother Jace's dance club?"

Xena very nearly snarled - something about being clad in Aphrodite-esque clothing made her temper remarkably short. Ares snapped at Gabrielle, "You know, Blondie, instead of just sniggering over there, you might use... my powers to fix this."

"Or, I could just zap you into something even more unpleasant," Gabrielle grinned, still having a hard time controlling her laughter.

Swiftly intervening, Xena shot out, "We don't have time for this." In a kinder tone, she turned to her friend, "Gabrielle, if you wouldn't mind..."

Once the warriors were safely back into their traditional leathers and armor, Xena did her best to take stock of the situation while ignoring Gabrielle's questioning glances. "Well, it looks like neither of our alternate selves are going to be much use… We need to find Callisto and the other Joxer and get our bearings in this place."

"Actually," Ares could have kicked himself for even bringing it up, "that bleached travesty to leather might be of some use, if we can keep him focused on the right goals and, preferably, if I could avoid the traumatizing image of seeing myself like that again."

Xena knew that there was a story behind that, but she let it go for the moment. "Fine, we'll send Hercules..." she paused, remembering the demigod's comments about the Sovereign. "Or, maybe Gabrielle should go. Joxer, you can find Hercules. Ares, try to find out if the other Joxer is going to be of any use to us, and I'll track down Callisto and see if she has any ideas on the 'Then what?' about Dahak."

Posts issued, and the issue of Xena and Ares' nocturnal disappearance momentarily forgotten, everyone made haste to exit the campsite. Their alternate selves were proving more troublesome by the minute, and nobody wanted to stay in this universe any longer than was absolutely necessary.

As Ares was just about to head back to Joxer's hideout, he felt a hand close on his arm and turned to see Xena regarding him intensely. "Stay away from... her... we don't want to test her intellect..."

Trying to still his feelings over Xena's apparent concern, Ares shrugged. "Not to worry, Princess, I have about as much desire to meet that harpy again, as I do to meet my own alternate ego." He leaned closer, voice lowered, "Especially when I have visions of your bejeweled self," and ducked away before Xena could smack him for the comment.

Shaking her head, Xena tried to remove feather-tinged fantasies from her head and focus on the goal - a plan for stopping Dahak, once and for all.

Deciding to head toward the nearest temple dedicated to the _Love God_, Xena spotted an old woman by the main road selling flowers.

"Why not," she said stepping forward to browse her selection.

Picking a particularly exquisite white rose to sniff, she suddenly thought wistfully about her first glimpse of _her_ Ares.

_A seventeen year old Xena slipped into the steaming waters of the tub after an exhausting day. She'd been feeling tense all day, since her practice session with Lyceus in the predawn had been interrupted by a group of wannabe thugs. All of a sudden in the middle of the fight she had felt someone sneak up behind her and thrust her sword-hilt backwards, only to meet with thin air._

It had thrown her off for all of 2 seconds but it was enough to have gotten her killed if she hadn't thought fast and kicked her opponent where it would do the most damage, bringing him to his knees. That feeling that someone was there watching her had stayed with her all day and had only irritated her more as she strived to locate where it was coming from.

Now, as she tried to release the tension with a nice hot bath, the feeling was lulling her to sleep, until she felt a warm hand slipping from her face to her shoulders and opened her eyes to see a beautifully perfect white rose held in front of her by a strong gauntlet- encased hand

_She gasped at the intrusion but stared at the proffered gift. On closer inspection she realized it was not just a simple rose, but metal shaped into the form of a white rose._

_"Beautiful, isn't it?" he had asked, then proceeded to pluck one of the petals, "But deadly, just as you are." he finished as he threw the petal towards the back wall, letting it imbed itself in the hard wood of the support beam.  
_

_Fascinated, she watched her hand reach up and take the flower from the hand. Snapping out of her trance, she shot to her feet and spun to face— empty space._

She found the cold metal of the stem in her hand again, burning into her palm as her mouth stretched open in a soundless scream. Lyceus' beautiful blond curls bounced on the mud, streaks of red smeared across their roots.

Her throat felt raw when she finally found her voice. "_Lyceus!_"_ The hoarse scream bubbled from her mouth as her hand came up automatically and hurled the rose. The razor-sharp tip of the stem drove into the warrior's neck. He touched the petals with a surprised expression etched on his face before crumpling slowly beside Lyceus' body._

Xena stared at the man she'd killed. Killed. With her hands. A bearded man clothed in leather reached down and plucked the stained rose from the warrior's corpse. Raising it in salute, his mouth twisted in a dark smile that seemed too familiar. Xena watched a trickle of blood run down the glinting stem, and she decided that she felt nothing.

Xena watched her hand shaking as she clenched it hard around the stem of the white rose. When she saw the tiny rivulet of blood on the stem, she realized that she hadn't felt the sting of the thorns jabbing into her hand.

"Xena?" Ares' voice said behind her.

She watched him as he took the flower from her with a concerned frown. His eyes were warm this time.

"You're bleeding," he whispered, and brought her fingers to his mouth all the while staring straight into her eyes with a resigned concern as though he knew what had brought this on.

The contact of his lips on her fingers snapped her out of her trance and she pulled away quickly. "I'm fine. I thought you were supposed to be in the rebel camp?" she said with a harsher tone than intended.

"Well, I was headed in that direction, but..." Ares looked down and for a moment, just a moment, he looked embarrassed but sincere at the same time and at a loss for words. He looked at her and shrugged slightly. "I thought... Xena, about last night..."

Xena averted her eyes for a moment. Talking about what had happened was embarrassing, but it wasn't because what had happened to them hadn't been...pleasant. No, it was because she didn't think she could have gotten satisfaction from their encounter and more importantly, that she shouldn't have. _He shouldn't make me feel that way_, she thought.

Xena sighed. "Ares...what happened...happened. Let's just move on, all right?"

Ares moved a little closer to her, cocking his head, his voice almost whispering. "Don't tell me you didn't feel anything."

For a moment, the glint was back in his eye, the way he would always get when he knew that he knew something she wasn't telling him. It was that self-centered look, that he knew more about her than what she was letting on. He smirked a little but soon that smirk was gone from his face when he saw the annoyance in her eyes.

"You don't know _what_ I felt. What happened - it wasn't really us. It was the God of Love's doing – his matchmaker mind at work. That's all."

"Really." The cockiness was back in his voice. "Then why do you seem so...embarrassed about it?"

Annoyed and getting angry, Xena shook her head. "You always do this. Twist my words around to fit your liking. And I'm tired of it."

Xena turned around and began to walk in the direction she had been heading before stopping at the flower stand. Ares watched as she walked away, almost guiltily. He'd blown it. He had wanted to have a sincere conversation about the night before, but his ego had gotten in the way...again. Xena turned a corner, disappearing behind a thick line of trees, and Ares sighed.

Xena stopped behind the trees, off the main road, and closed her eyes, frustrated with Ares and with herself. It was so difficult to talk to him about this sort of thing – she had too much pride to let him see a weakness in her. And what happened the night before had brought out a weakness that she did not know she had, at least not for Ares. Xena sighed. _Just concentrate on the situation at hand. Gotta find Callisto, gotta stop Dahak. There's no time to worry about any feelings I may be having... _

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

"Xena?"

Xena turned around to see Ares standing a few feet in front of her. _...for him_, her thoughts finally finished. He had a sincere and perhaps even an apologetic look on his face – it was clear he had not wanted to make Xena angry with him...yet again.

Xena opened her mouth to speak but Ares raised his hand to stop her.

"Xena, just listen, all right?" He walked forward slowly, and she stayed put, watching him. "Maybe you didn't feel anything..." he looked down, "but I did. It's not something I know how to explain, but no woman has made me feel the way you do. And I want to blame it all on that crazy love god who's wearing my face but...I can't." Ares sighed. "So make what you want of the events of last night. You know where I stand."

Xena stared at him for the longest moment, neither of them saying a word. For just a second, she wondered if this had been a trick, since she had never heard anything really sincere come out of his mouth since, well, ever. But the look in his eyes had her realizing that it couldn't have been a trick – the way he told her, the way he looked, it was all too genuine to be lies. _Has mortality really changed him?_ she thought to herself.

"Well," Xena started to say, wanting to break the uncomfortable silence, "you should probably head to the rebel camp and talk to the other Joxer. I need to find Callisto."

Ares nodded. "Will do."

Ares walked off back in the direction he had come from.

Xena watched him for a long moment, then sighed.

"I felt something, too, Ares," she said quietly to herself, then headed on down the road.

x x x

Xena found Callisto next to a dried-up riverbed, combing through a wave of wet hair. "Hello, Xena. Did you sleep well?"

Xena looked away for a moment, thinking of the events of last night. _If things had gone just a little farther, we might have . . . Oh, snap out of it!_ " I've sent Ares to find Joxer . . . _your_ Joxer. We'll need to find out just what kind of help . . . or threat . . . this other Xena is going to be for us."

"Don't waste your time, my dear. She's nothing."

"But she – "

Callisto held up something that glinted in the sunlight. Xena stepped closer and saw that the item was a dagger with a wavy-edge and a jewel-encrusted handle. "Looks like a sacrificial dagger. Where'd you get it?"

"Her chambers. She had them under heavy lock and key, but," Callisto grinned rakishly, "I have ways of getting around that kind of thing."

"I'll bet you do." Xena gave a half-smile and continued, "But what is it?"

"The Dagger of Helios."

Xena's eyes widened. "One of the weapons that can kill a god? You mean . . . "

"She doesn't have the power to kill gods any more than you or I do. She's been . . . cheating."

"And now . . . we have it."

"You got it."

x x x

Ares stumbled his way back toward the rebel camp, looking for their leader and hoping to avoid both his alternative self and Xena's. All along the way, he couldn't help thinking about what had happened the night before. _It's a good thing it didn't go any further than it did, Ares thought. Otherwise, I might've wound up on the wrong end of the Warrior Princess' chakram. Wait, a chakram doesn't have an end. Oh, Tartarus. Who cares?_ He kicked the dirt furiously as he walked.

Finally, he found the alternate-world Joxer in one of the main halls of the underground caves. He was talking with a short, muscular young woman, apparently giving some orders. He then dismissed her, and she left through one of the many doors in the hall. He nodded to Ares to approach.

Ares spoke first. "Xena sent me to find you. We need to act qui-"

Joxer cut him off with a sense of urgency. "I'm glad you're here. There's no time to be lost. Xena . . . the Xena from _this_ world, that is, has disappeared. This morning she was frantic, saying something was missing. She raged for half an hour, tearing her room apart, and she badly injured one of my men. Then she ran out, screaming something about Dahak.

Ares was taken aback, but replied sardonically, "Really? She seemed so . . . down-to-earth when I met her last night."

Joxer rushed on, "Ares, we've just had word from one of our spies that she's back at the Sovereign's castle. Seems she's planning a full-out onslaught. For tonight."

x x x

Hercules was running through the forest at a pace that only he could keep. Suddenly, a flash of red-gold light not ten feet in front of him stopped him. The goddess Hera stood proudly in front of him. The demigod stood gaping for a moment. Could this really be Hera? Instead of her usual cool palette of blue, green, and black, she wore a lush red gown with gold embroidery, and was crowned with what looked like glowing yellow stars. Her eyes were the same pale blue, only now they sparked warmly, not mockingly, in her regal face.

"You must be Hercules. I've been watching you." There was something in the way she spoke, something that had great power – it was a sense of time - time that was running out.

"Hera? You . . . "

Seeing that the man was speechless, she continued. "I know everything. I've been watching you and your friends ever since you arrived in this world. You want to destroy Dahak."

She waited for Hercules to acknowledge this with a nod.

"You must reach him somehow before he enters this world. He is not of this world. He has another realm, far out of our own time and space. He is trying to create a bridge in the ether between our world and his. Zeus and I were holding him back, but now . . . "

"Zeus is dead." Hercules looked down, biting his lip hard and balling his fists.

"Yes. Dahak grows stronger with every passing day. The other gods and I cannot reach him – we are bound to this realm. You – must act quickly. He is building his bridge over the palace, where his minions are in charge. You will only have moments to act before he will be able to cross over. You must get to him first."

"But how can we kill him?" Hercules asked.

"You will find the right weapon when the time comes. You will need someone of immortal blood to go with you and fight Dahak. Go, and quickly!"

A red-gold light surrounded Hera, and she vanished.

HERA!" Hercules yelled as soon as she vanished, but she didn't come back. He let out a frustrated yell and punched a tree near by.

x x x

Ares arrived back at camp and was rushing to tell Xena about Alt-Xena when..  
"OW!" Ares looked down to see Hercules on the ground rubbing his head.

"Hercules, move out of my way," Ares said while Hercules was getting up.

"No, I need to tell Xena something very important, Ares. You don't understand."

Ares was getting more heated by the second. 

"Oh I think I understand perfectly. Now Hercules, move, or you'll regret it."

"Whatcha gonna do Ares?" Hercules was enjoying getting Ares heated. "Throw a fireball at me? Wait! I forgot! You can't!"

"Oh, little brother, I can do more that that!"

Ares tackled Hercules right in the middle of his stomach, which sent them rolling downhill near camp.

x x x

Alt-Xena ran to the Sovreign's castle as fast as she could. _How could I be so stupid?! How did I lose my most valuable possession? Where is it?!!_

She had to find her, to tell her what had happened.

The closer Alt-Xena got to the Sovereign's castle, the darker the sky got. It was almost a dark purple, but the clouds were closer to black.  
"Ah, home at last." Alt-Xena smiled evilly. She arrived at the entrance of the castle. 

"Ooh, new decorations?" Alt-Xena said, looking at the door knocker, which was in the shape of a skull.

Right before she reached the skull to knock on the door, the door opened.

She heard someone talking, so she followed the noise. _Who...?_

She saw a back view of someone in a white robe, talking to many people.  
"There was once a girl who was full of evil and hate. So Dahak, hearing about this, wanted to cure her of this evil inside of her. He believed that anyone can be purified. He sent for her, and taught her all the good he knows. This shows that Dahak is the one and only good god, and he can accomplish anything, no matter how horrible your past is. Is this how the gods treat you?"

The crowd replied with a firm "No!"

"Then we should stop them! We deserve equality and respect! Dahak will give us that!"

The crowd started clapping wildly.

Alt-Xena gave an inquiring look while she continued to walk closer. She came closer to the white-robed human. Her heart was racing, and she tried to tip-toe across the red, velvety carpeting that led toward the altar, even though to her it sounded like a huge boulder was being dropped within each step she took.

Her voice trembled, "Um, uh, ex-excuse me, but do I know you?"

The white-robed person turned around and took off her hood to reveal dark-brown hair, twisted into two weird buns on either side of the head. Althea smiled at Alt-Xena and greeted her with a friendly handclasp.

"So you're the one I'm supposed to meet?", Alt-Xena inquired.

"If you're Xena, I am." Althea smiled. "We have much work to do if we are to accomplish my master's mission." She reached out a hand toward Alt-Xena. "Come. I'll explain everything in my chambers."

Alt-Xena looked at Althea and then grinned a sinister smile. She followed Althea down the hallway leading into a dark area of the palace.

In a quiet forest where birds sang and a babbling brook meandered along through the underbrush, shaded by the tall trees, the calm serenity of the forest was suddenly interrupted when Ares and Hercules came rolling down the hill and tumbling into the brook. They let go of each other and moved back, both soaking wet.

Ares pointed an accusing finger at Hercules. "You know, this is all your fault."

"Yeah, of course you'd say that. Never wanting to take responsibility for your actions."

"I'm getting real tired of you, little brother."

"The feeling is mutual."

Ares and Hercules stood up wiping off as much water off their cloths as possible. Hercules looked at Ares.

"Just stay away from Xena and I'll stay out of your way."

Ares cocked his head moving toward Hercules. "Stay away from Xena?"

"Yeah. Your obsession with her is as clear as rain. And I'm not going to have you trying to corrupt her...for a second time."

Ares moved closer to Hercules, getting right up in his face in a threatening manner. "You really have to be a goody, goody, don't you? Well, for your information, maybe corrupting Xena isn't on my list of things to do anymore."

Hercules grinned. "Yeah, I guess not. What power would the ex-God of War have over her, anyway?"

That was the last straw. Hercules' persistent nagging attitude toward Ares got on his last nerve. He snarled and attacked Hercules again, landing a punch to his face. They began to fight once more, still standing in the middle of the brook, slugging it out, swinging at each other like two men in the middle of a tavern brawl.

They both swung a few good punches at each other, brushing each others' faces. Then Hercules tackled Ares and wrapped his arm around Ares' neck and held him down until Ares kicked him in the leg and sent Hercules staggering back. Ares jumped Hercules again and pushed him down to into the water. He landed over him and raised his hand for one more punch to his face when a lightening bolt suddenly shot out from nowhere and struck in between Hercules and Ares, sending the two of them flying back in opposite directions, both landing on their backs in the brook.

Gabrielle stepped up to the brook, looking down at Ares and Hercules, then lowering her hand.

Gabrielle did not look very pleased and, for a moment, she had an angry look that looked very close to one of Xena's own. "Enough, you two. We don't have time for this."

Xena stepped up next to Gabrielle. She was scowling at both Hercules and Ares. Hercules looked embarrassed for the way he had acted. Hercules stood up from the river and walked over to Xena.

"Xena, I'm sorry for letting Ares get to me again. I know it isn't the time for petty grudges."

She put her hand up, sighing. She was slightly annoyed with the way things had been going between Hercules and Ares. "Let's just go. We need to get back to camp. We have some things to talk about."

Hercules nodded and headed off, Gabrielle following. 

Xena lingered for a moment. She turned to see Ares standing up from the brook, looking at her. Xena walked up to him.

"Look, Xena..."

She put her hands on her hips, her face stern. "I'm getting tired of this, Ares. This thing with you and Hercules - put it behind you. We have more important things to deal with. So I don't want you picking fights with him anymore."

"Me, pick fights with _him_? Please! He --"

Xena raised a finger to silence him. "You're as much to blame as Hercules—and I'm tried of this constant conflict between the two of you. It ends now, got it?"

Ares slowly nodded his head, not wanting to disagree with Xena anymore. She could really kick his ass now that he was mortal and he knew it.

"The only way we're going to be able to defeat Dahak is if we work together, and that can't happen if you two can't get along for more that two minutes."

Ares looked down. She had a point. It was just that Hercules always got on his nerves and it was hard to resist pummeling his half-brother whom he had never cared one ounce for. But if they were going to stop Dahak, he needed to listen to Xena. Otherwise, everything could go to Tartarus. Besides, he didn't like it when Xena was sore with him.

"Fine. I'll try to get along..."

"Good," Xena said, and turned to leave.

She heard Ares' voice behind her. "He told me to stay away from you." Xena stopped and glanced back at him. "It set me off and all I wanted to do was hurt him...because of it." Ares looked down for a brief moment. "He believes I want to corrupt you again."

"And you don't..."

Xena turned around and continued to look at him. Part of her knew why it made him so angry…that Hercules was trying to protect her from Ares. She knew the things he'd done to her -- and how he was part of the reason she turned into a monster all those years ago. But, standing there as a mortal, looking at her with his eyes so different from the way they'd been when he was a god, it was hard to think that he might want to do that again.

Ares moved closer to her. "No...I don't."

He moved even closer to her but Xena did not move back. His eyes were gentle and she didn't know if she could turn away from them. He moved closer and their lips just barely touched. She didn't know why she let him get so close -- but she couldn't help responding to his kiss.

Their lips meeting a brief moment, Xena's head was no longer in control of her actions. It felt really good to kiss him, even if their lips were just brushing against one another—it sent shivers down her spine and, no doubt, down Ares' as well. But her senses quickly got the better of her and just as the kiss was heading in the direction of possibly becoming passionate, she pulled back and looked at him. She wasn't sure what to say—and neither was he—so they stood in silence for a long moment, at a loss for words.

"Xena, you coming?" Gabrielle shouted from the clearing not far away.

Xena and Ares both sighed with relief that Gabrielle had interrupted their uncomfortable silence. Neither of them knew how to respond to what had just happened between them. Their defenses had been down and it made them both uneasy.

"I'm coming!" Xena shouted.

She looked at Ares once -- it was uncomfortable to look at him, but pleasant and warming at the same time. With a silent nod toward him, she turned around and walked briskly back toward where they had set up camp.

Ares sighed. As he watched Xena walk away his faced showed a bit of warm happiness and a small smile crept across his lips. _I'm finally getting to her_, he thought, and followed Xena back to camp.


	9. Chapter 9

The two Joxers, Callisto, Hercules, Ares and Gabrielle were gathered around the campsite in a circle with Xena in the middle.

"We all now know what Dahak has planned and that the Xena from this world is going to have a part in it. What Hera told Hercules and what Joxer told Ares confirms it. We must act quickly."

"But we don't know exactly how Dahak plans to create this…bridge between our world and his. And we don't know how we're going to stop him," Joxer said.

"Someone with immortal blood must be the key." Xena glanced at Gabrielle. "Right now, the only immortal we can count on is Gabrielle."

Gabrielle stood up with a very unsure look on her face. "I can't, Xena. It's not a good idea to use my powers, and besides...these powers are part of the godhood of war. If I give into that too much...I'm afraid what might happen to me."

Xena put a comforting hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. "It'll be all right. It's only temporary and you won't have to use much of your powers for too long when we go up against Dahak." She smiled. "And if we start to lose you to some dark force within you...I'll help bring you back like you've always done for me."

Gabrielle smiled and then nodded slowly. "All right. I'll do what I can."

"Good." Xena looked at the rest of the group. "We head for the Sovereign's palace immediately."

Ares stood up. "Whatever happens, I'm wherever Gabrielle is." Xena and Hercules looked curiously at him. "She's got my powers -- and if Dahak happens to defeat her, the godhood of war will seek its original owner. If I'm not around, it will be lost forever and that will be no good for any of us."

Callisto stood up, looking determined. "I know a shortcut to the palace and a way to get in without being spotted. If we enter undetected by Xena's guards, we'll have more of a chance at stopping whatever kind of attack she has planned."

Everyone packed up their things and began to head out, Callisto leading the way. As everyone was leaving the clearing, Xena looked at Ares who walked up to her.

"You know...you don't have to be right there with us when we go to stop Dahak from entering this world. You've not been mortal for very long, Ares, I'm not sure..."

"That I can handle myself?" He grins. "Please, Xena, I was the God of War. Even as a mortal, I'm more skilled than most people."

Xena chuckled. "We'll see about that." Xena paused. "Ares, what happened before..."

"You're not going to deny it, are you?"

"No," She looked into his eyes. "It was..." she said, speaking almost in a whisper, "...nice." Ares smiled a little and Xena shook her head. "Let's go. We can talk about it later."

Xena walked on in the direction the others had taken. Ares watched her, grinning a little. _Yep, I'm definitely getting to her_, he thought and then followed her.

x x x

Althea poured a glass of what looked like wine and handed it to the more vixenish version Xena, who sat rather awkwardly poised in a heavy high-backed chair. "I'm glad you've come. I'm going to be very busy and I need your assistance."

Xena did not look up, but answered, "Yes, I'll do whatever you want."

"Good. Dahak rewards obedience. And punishes traitors." Althea made a slicing movement across her own neck as she spoke the last sentence.

Xena attempted a laugh, which died on her lips. "Wouldn't wanna be a traitor."

"Excellent. As you may know, Dahak plans to make enter into this world tonight. And it must be perfect. Nothing can go wrong, do you understand?"

Xena nodded quickly. "Whaddaya want me to do?"

"Wise mortals know that all good things require . . . sacrifice." Althea's eyes flickered with the candlelight.

x x x

From atop a hill overlooking the town, Xena and her companions could see that there was a sudden flurry of activity surrounding the palace. "Something's going on. I don't like the look of this."

The rebel leader Joxer spoke up. "You mentioned earlier that Dahak sometimes possesses simple townspeople and uses them to attack his enemies. Do you think he may be planning something like that?"

"Could be."

"Then let me go back to my camp and get my forces ready. We'll be able to take some of the heat off of you when Dahak opens the bridge . . . wherever it is."

Xena nodded her acquiescence. "Go ahead."

Gabrielle spoke. "Why don't I take you?" She paused, blushing at herself. "I meant, I could get you there faster, and then I could help out if you need me . . ." she dropped off.

Rebel Joxer looked to Xena, who nodded curtly. "Let's get going, then."

The other Joxer chimed in. "Wait, take me! I, Joxer the Mighty, will aid you in your worthy cause!"

Gabrielle smiled knowingly at Xena. _It's better to keep him out of this, anyway_, her look said. Aloud, she said, "Call if you need me."

x x x

At the palace, things were in total chaos. Althea had remained hidden within her chambers for most of the day, and her followers were getting restless. Suddenly, her helper Xena walked out of the castle alone. In her hand, she carried a leather whip. She called out to one of the guards standing to one side of the gate. "You! Get some chains from the dungeon." To his partner, she yelled, "And you – build a bonfire. There's going to be a cookout." He looked confused by the wink that followed.

x x x

Xena, Hercules, Ares and Callisto were walking together toward the palace. It was around midday, and they were about to stop for a quick meal, when Callisto looked suddenly up at the sky. "Xena, look!" She pointed above the palace. "Watch those clouds. They're moving slowly, but in a pattern. It's as if they're gathering together."

Xena saw what Callisto was looking at, as did the other two. She spat the word out: "Dahak." 

Gabrielle had used her powers to transport the two Joxers back to the camp, and was helping the one to get his troops ready and keeping a close eye on the other. She didn't want Joxer getting caught in the crossfire if they were attacked.

Word had spread about some townspeople who were stalking through the woods, attacking anyone who went near. Their faces were white, as if drained of blood, and their eyes were an icy shade of blue. None of the rebels had been killed, but a few had been injured and had brought the news back to the camp.

Rebel Joxer turned to Gabrielle for a moment. "I need you to do something for me. Althea is obviously planning for something to happen soon . . . maybe tonight. According to my spies, she hasn't been seen outside the palace all day. I need you to use your powers to find her. You can make yourself invisible, can't you?"

Gabrielle nodded, a little uncertainly. "I- I think so." She tried it. "Did it work?"

Joxer smiled. "Perfect." 

The goddess made herself visible again.

"What do you want me to do when I find her?" Gabrielle asked. "Spy on her?"

The rebel leader raised one eyebrow. "I want you to kill her."

x x x

Xena and Callisto, followed by Ares and Hercules, dropped their makeshift lunches and raced in the direction of the palace. If Dahak was opening his bridge, they were going to be there to meet him. Xena would call Gabrielle once they got there, although she was hesitant to put her friend in so much danger. Maybe they could work things out without using her powers.

Finally, they reached the edge of the woods, but before they stepped away from cover, they stopped a moment to assess the situation. The weren't far from the palace now, and the clouds were gathering just to the east of it. They seemed to be forming over a clearing encircled by rough boulders. In the center stood a huge pile of wood and some vertical poles, much like the ones Xena had seen the Dahak worshipers use before when she had interrupted their ceremony so abruptly. It wasn't well-guarded yet; only a handful of makeshift soldiers seemed to be watching the place. The real threat was from the palace, which was now swarming with people. If they didn't make it to the bridge in time, they'd have a messy fight on their hands.

Callisto suddenly pointed to the sky. "Look! It's changing." Sure enough, the clouds that had been swirling were now moving faster, and the center of the circle began to dip down, as if some god were poking it with his finger from above.

"The bridge! It's forming. We've got to act quickly!" Xena began to move, but Callisto's hand arrested her.

"Wait. You can't go out there like this. You need a distraction."

"I can't ask you to do that!"

"Who's asking? Besides, I can be most helpful by taking care of things here. Althea will be a force to reckon with all on her own."

"But what about Gabrielle?" Xena asked.

"Call her."

Xena, anxious to avoid alerting the guards, said her friend's name. "Gabrielle." Nothing. "Gabrielle, we're ready for you." Still no shower of green sparks heralded her friend's return. Xena looked stricken.

The spike of cloud was now reaching down toward the ground. Callisto looked at Xena. "My friend, it's now or never. You've got to go without her."

Ares was about to protest, but Callisto gave him no chance. She darted off in the direction of the palace, screaming like a banshee. Yelling back to them for a moment, she cried, "GO NOW!"

They went. The three reluctant companions raced off toward where the bridge was forming. There were only three guards left there now; the others had gone off to see what all the ruckus was about. Xena charged at one with her sword, knocking him unconscious with the hilt. Ares prepared to slice the second guard open, but then shifted his weight and knocked him down with a kick to the head. Hercules grabbed one by the midsection and whirled him around in the air, dropping him some thirty feet away.

Ares looked nonplussed. "Showoff."

Xena led her two companions toward the center of the vortex, which nearly touched the ground. "Come on, Gabrielle, where are you?!" she yelled desperately. No answer came. The next moment, the three of them had vanished from the earth.

x x x

Gabrielle stared. "You – you want me to k-kill her?"

Rebel Joxer's gaze softened a little. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, Gabrielle, but you're the only one who can get in there now. And she's got to be stopped. Innocent people are going to die if you don't do this."

"But how can I –"

"She's mortal. And by all accounts, not a fighter. You can kill her quite easily with a fire bolt or whatever your weapon of choice may be."

"I see."

"So will you do it?"

Gabrielle faltered, then thought of Xena. _Her life may depend on this, not to mention the rest of humanity's. _ "All right. I'm in." She tried to smile.

x x x

Callisto had made her way up to the castle, making noises that the other Callisto would have been proud of. A lot of people simply stepped out of her way, startled by her wild cries. Finally, though, she was surrounded by a group of guards. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I want to see Xena. She's expecting me."

x x x

Gabrielle sighed. She was going to have to commit murder. And an innocent woman in her own realm was going to have to die for it. It wasn't going to be easy for her, especially considering all she'd been through this past year.

Rebel Joxer squeezed her hand warmly. "Thank you for doing this. Are you ready?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Yes. I'm going. Take care of Joxer for me, please?"

The rebel leader said, "Of course. He'll stay right by my side. I don't want anything happening to him, either."

The green light she gave off reflected in his eyes.

x x x

Gabrielle found herself standing in a room inside the castle. It was well-lit, and there were expensive tapestries hanging from the walls. It looked like she was in the right place. Then she felt something strange, as if someone were walking right through her. She nearly screamed. In front of her appeared the back of a young woman with brown hair tightly coiled into two buns on either side of her head. Her clothes were silky and black. She appeared not to have noticed Gabrielle at all.

The woman in black turned and sat down at a table. Gabrielle drew closer, remembering what she was here to do. _I'm supposed to take her life_, Gabrielle reminded herself, still trying to convince herself.

Then the woman's face turned toward her. Gabrielle gasped. "Lila?"

The woman's eyes were blazing now. "Who's there? Show yourself! Now!"

Gabrielle, forgetting the danger, made herself visible. "Oh, Lila! Is that you? It's me, Gabrielle! I- I'm here to find . . ."

"Althea?" the woman provided the name helpfully.

"Yes, exactly! Do you know where she is?"

"Yes. She's right here. And you've just walked right into her trap." Althea's lips rose up at the corners, and she erupted into a cruel laugh. "I've been expecting you."

x x x

Xena, Hercules and Ares found themselves standing outdoors. They were in a lightly wooded area with a peaceful stream nearby. A strange sense of calm was in the air.

Ares looked uncomfortable. "Where are we?"

Hercules answered, "It looks like the Elysian Fields."

"You mean we're dead and I get to spend eternity with you? Great."

Xena interrupted them. "If we're in Elysium, then where's everybody else? Something's not right here."

They walked a little further and came to a clearing near a clear blue pool. On a convenient rock sat a handsome young man with curly blond hair and brown eyes. Xena uttered a strangled little cry.

Lyceus stood up. "Sis. It's so good to see you. What's it been, fourteen, fifteen years?"

x x x

Callisto's hands were bound behind her. She was being led into one of the inner chambers. "You know, you didn't need to bring me here in all this state to see Xena. But I'm honored, just the same." She threw back her head and laughed heartily.

The guards said nothing. In a few moments, they stopped before a wooden door and one of them knocked. "Mistress Xena, there's someone here who wants to see you. Says you've been expecting her."

From behind the door they heard a muffled voice. "Bring 'er in."

Callisto was ushered roughly into a rather small boudoir, sparsely furnished. When Xena saw it was her, she hissed, "What exactly do you want?"

"Aww, Xena, I'm hurt!" The blonde woman gave her a phony pout. "And here I thought surely you'd have missed me!"

Xena smirked. "You'll make a fine addition to our . . . collection. Dahak can always use more sacrifices!"

Callisto smiled. "I wouldn't count on it. You see, I've got other plans for you."


	10. Chapter 10

Meanwhile, the other Xena stood staring at her younger brother, transfixed.

"What's the matter, Xena? Don't you know me? Or is it just that you're still feeling guilty for getting me killed? Then again, you can always blame it on _him_." He pointed toward Ares.

Xena looked over her shoulder at the former god of war. "He didn't kill you. Cortese's men did."

"But I never would have fought if it hadn't been for you and your lust for Ares."

"I didn't know Ares back then!" Xena shouted, through tears that were forming.

"Didn't you?" Lyceus shot back. "I think you did. Intimately. Maybe you didn't know his face yet, but you were always his willing and humble servant. No, not just his servant. His whore." He spat out the word.

Xena was pale. "What? Lyceus, no! Why are you saying this?"

"Blood is thicker than water, Xena."

Suddenly, she was remembering that day again, the feel of the sword in her hand, the hot blood streaming from the bodies of Cortese's men, and all the while . . . a presence. Ares. It was as if she were living in that moment again, yet looking back on it at the same time, as in a dream. She spun around.

"You! You used me. And I let you. I wanted you and all the power you had to offer. And my own brother paid for it with his life."

Ares, shocked, tried to reply. "Xena – I – I didn't – it – wasn't your fault!"

A mask of rage slipped over Xena's face. "That's what you always say. You'll say anything to get me back, won't you? As your Warrior Princess!"

Lyceus' eyes danced as he watched this exchange. And then he was gone. As Xena looked back toward her brother, she saw no one.

"Hercules!" A slender brown-haired woman stepped out from behind the cover of trees.

"Serena?" Hercules ran forward to meet her, his face contorted with pain, confusion and concern. "What are you doing here?" Serena had been his wife once, but Ares had had her killed and had framed Hercules for her murder; later, Hercules changed fate with the help of the Chronos Stone. Serena had gone on to marry someone else and had no memory of him.

She spoke to him. "It's me! I . . . I remember everything now. It's so strange. I was your wife. I loved you. I still love you."

It was Hercules' turn to stare. "But how is this possible? I altered fate to save you from . . . Ares." He glared over at his half-brother. "How can you remember me?"

Serena looked at him lovingly. "Oh, it's easy to remember now that I've crossed over to the other side."

"The other side? But you were alive! I saw you in the village!" Hercules was thoroughly confused by now, and his heart stung him with every look at his former wife.

"I know. I was married. I had a child. I was content. And then, one day, Ares came back for me. He said he wanted me back, and that he wasn't going to let you come between us anymore." 

Hercules grabbed Ares by the neck. "What have you done?!" he screamed in his face.

"When I refused to go with him, he stabbed me through the heart." Serena spoke the words calmly, and the hint of a smile flitted across her lips.

Ares' eyes widened in shock. "She's lying! I never went near her!"

Serena went on. "It's true. Why weren't you there to protect me, Hercules?" Hercules turned back to look at her with a wounded look in his eyes.

"I . . . I didn't know! How could this happen?"

"Of course, it never would have happened if Xena had just gone back to him like he wanted. Ares was just taking his jealousy out on me." She pointed accusingly at Xena. Xena shook her head in confusion. _How did __I__ get dragged into this?_

"But you know whose fault it really is, Hercules, darling? It's yours. If you hadn't defied the gods and angered your brother Ares, he never would have killed me. It's your fault. Just as if you'd stabbed me with your own hand." At that moment, blood started gushing forth out of Serena's chest as from a stab wound, and she fell prostrate on the floor.

Hercules dropped Ares and ran to his beloved. By the time he got to her, she was cold and limp.

"You bastard!!" Hercules ran at Ares and knocked him over.

Ares fought back, trying to ward off his brother's blows. "Serena's alive, I swear it! I never touched her!"

Xena looked on without really seeing anything. Her thoughts were with Lyceus. Then she suddenly envisioned his face getting larger, taking up the whole landscape. His eyes were like black pools of nothing. He was laughing at her now. He was enjoying the scene before him.

"Blood is thicker than water." Her eyes began to focus again. "Ares! Hercules! Stop fighting! Stop it! Our hatred is only fueling Dahak's power!

They both looked up at Xena, as if they had just woken up from a dream. "Lyceus and Serena . . . Dahak took on their forms to get us at each other's throats. Dahak feeds on chaos, hatred, destruction. The only way we can defeat him is if we forgive each other. It's love! That's the answer. The same immortal blood is running through your veins. You're going to have to stop him together!"

Ares and Hercules looked at each other, unsure. Then Ares looked at Xena. "Love, huh? Well . . . it's worth a shot."

Hercules stood up, pulling his half-brother with him. "I'm supposed to love you? After all you've done?"

Ares smiled mockingly at him. "You've got no choice, bro."

x x x

Suddenly, they were no longer outdoors. They were in a pitch-black room. It was impossible to tell how big.

"Great." Ares fumbled in the dark, and his hands reached something round and metallic.

"Get your hands off those," Xena whispered.

"Sorry." Ares grinned in the darkness.

Hercules searched for a light, but found none. He did, however, find Ares' nose. "Ow!"

"Oops." It was Hercules' turn to grin.

"You two have got to stop this," Xena said, like a mother to naughty children.

Ares yelped. "He started it."

"What about you two? Have you learned to love each other yet?" Hercules asked sarcastically.

The darkness made no reply.

Then Ares did something that shocked even himself. "Uh . . . Jer- I mean, Hercules? I just wanted to say . . . about Serena . . . I'm s- . . . I'm so-. . . I'm sorry, okay?" He rushed the last words out. "Now I know how she feels – hunted by the gods. I . . . it was wrong of me to try to possess her. I realize that now. She belongs to herself." Ares felt his hand being squeezed. Xena knew he wasn't just talking about Serena.

Hercules turned to where he thought Ares must be standing. "Do you swear Serena is alive?"

"Last time I checked."

"And you promise never to harm her again?"

"Deal."

"Then . . . I . . . good. Then we understand each other." It was the best Hercules could do at accepting Ares' apology.

x x x

Gabrielle stepped back in shock, but it was too late. A wire mesh cage dropped from the ceiling to cover her. She tried to teleport herself away, but found that she couldn't. She touched the cage, and a shock went through her body, knocking her on her backside.

"Surprise! This cage was designed to hold a god. And Dahak's been wanting to have a little chat with you quite some time now."

"Whatever you've got planned, forget about it. Dahak is about to die." She didn't sound at all sure of herself.

Althea laughed unpleasantly. "Die? Ha! Dahak can't be killed. Especially not by some weak, pathetic mortals!"

"You obviously don't know my friend." Gabrielle grinned, unable to help herself.

Her smile died on her lips when she saw what Althea held in her hand.

x x x

"Xena, you're coming with me."

"Forget it, Callisto! You're dreamin'!"

"Oh, am I? I don't think so. Not when I know where your precious dagger is hidden."

Xena's eyes widened. "My dagger? You stole it, you witch! I want it!" She began to grab Callisto by the throat.

Callisto's bonds fell from her hands. "Ah-ah-ah, Xena. Not so fast." She waved her finger at the raven-haired woman.

"How'd you do that?"

"Let's just say you're not the only one with many skills. Now let's go."

"I can't! I have to stay here and prepare the sacrifices."

Callisto raised an eyebrow, as if pitying her. "Don't be a fool. As soon as all this is over, you'll be thrown on top of the pyre with everybody else."

Xena looked miserable. "Hey! Althea promised me I'd be queen of Greece if I did what she wanted!"

"Poor dear. Don't you know what Dahak does to people who've outlived their uses? Ares, the one from the other realm, betrayed his family and sided with Dahak. He lost his godhood and now he's nothing more than a pawn, hunted like an animal. Dahak doesn't reward loyalty any better than treason. Besides, I have something in mind that's far more powerful than your silly little dagger."

x x x

Xena and her companions were still trapped in the dark, unable to locate any walls, doors, or anything else that might indicate where they were or how to get out. A silence fell among them for a moment as they thought about where they were and how to get out.

Ares thought about his apology to Hercules. It dawned on him that maybe the big lug hadn't deserved all the stuff he'd put him through, especially with Serena. _He's not such a bad guy, even if he is totally obnoxious._ Zeus had always favored Hercules, but then, he hadn't exactly had an easy time of it, what with good old Hera's insane jealous streak and all. _Now that I'm mortal, I guess I know how it feels . . ._

Xena was thinking about Ares. Could this actually be the same Ares who had tried to get her to kill her own mother? _He actually apologized. To Hercules._

Hercules was a little dazed by what was happening. His world seemed to have turned itself on its ear. Zeus, his immortal father, was dead, Hera (at least the one from this realm) was on his side, and his hated half-brother, Ares, was actually apologizing for something instead of trying to have him killed. _What a week._

While they were thinking these thoughts, Ares noticed something. The darkness was being penetrated by a faint glowing – and it was coming from his own chest. He looked down. _The medallion._ It was pulsating with a pale blue light, and it felt warm against his skin. The others had noticed it, too, by now, and he took it off to examine it.

"What's it doing?" Xena asked, warily.

"I don't know. It just started doing that."

Hercules piped up. "There's something carved on it. Let me see!"

Ares held his medallion up so that all three of them could see. On one side twinkled tiny blue lights in a pattern that seemed familiar.

"It's Castor and Pollux! It's a constellation!" cried Hercules.

"You're right – but what does it mean? Twins?" Xena queried.

"I don't know. But the other side has something on it, too." Ares flipped the medallion over. The threesome saw there the outline of a male figure, winged and blindfolded, and he carried a bow and arrow. "Cupid! Wait, what? What does Cupid have to do with Castor and Pollux?"

"Well, if Castor and Pollux represent twins, then Cupid represents love," Xena answered.

Ares looked at Xena in the dim but increasing light. "Love? Could be." He winked.

Ares flipped the medallion over again. "Wait, there's an inscription! I can barely make it out, but it looks like it says . . . 'Blood is . . . thicker than water.'" Ares looked up at Xena, now more puzzled than before.

"It sounds like a riddle . . ." Xena said.

"Or instructions," Ares countered.

"Twins . . . blood . . ." Xena murmered. "No – not twins – brothers! Your blood!"

Ares gulped. "Our blood? Uh, Xena, I'm kind of attached to mine, thanks."

Xena pulled out the breast dagger and handed the small blade to Ares. "Just a little bit won't hurt – much."

"Fine." Sighing, Ares cut himself on the fingertip and smeared some of the blood on the medallion. "Care to give it a try, 'bro'?"

Hercules took the knife from Ares and sliced his palm. _Still the tough guy_, thought Ares. The demigod wiped some of his blood onto the medallion, mingling it with Ares' own.

"Great. Nothing's happening," Ares complained.

Xena furrowed her brows for a moment. "That's only half the riddle. Turn it back over."

The image of Cupid, god of love, met them placidly.

"Well, now what? Don't tell me we have to kiss each other, too." Ares looked perplexed.

"I don't think that's what it means. Cupid is the god of erotic love. And it doesn't seem like that's the case with you two." Xena grinned impishly.

"Ha. Ha."

x x x

The rebel leader looked worried. He and his band of fighters were still about a half-mile from the palace. His scouts had reported that strange things had been seen going on in the vicinity of the palace, and that people were gathering outside. A large fire had been lit, and an enormous funnel cloud seemed to be hovering over the area.

"We've got to get there fast. If Xena and her friends are in trouble, they'll need our help to keep Althea's worshippers from getting in the way. Plus, I have a feeling Althea's got more than a friendly barbecue planned for tonight."

The other Joxer, who had been told to stay by his side, was feeling very anxious. Not only was he going along with his double on what was probably a suicide mission, and his friends had disappeared. Gabrielle had left hours ago. _What happened to them?_

The group of men and women, all prepared for battle and expecting to be attacked at any moment, pressed on toward the castle.

x x x

Gabrielle, panic-stricken, looked at the cult leader. Althea held a dagger in her hand. Gabrielle recognized it. _The Hind's Blood Dagger!_ "What are you doing?"

"I just want you to know I have you right where I want you. And that I won't hesitate to kill you if you get in my way. You may be the mother of Hope, but you've already betrayed the goddess more than once. Dahak won't always be so forgiving."

"What – are you going to do with me?"

"I haven't decided yet. But what better way to usher Dahak into the world than with the sacrifice of the goddess who sought to destroy him? The one with whom he shared a daughter? What could be more . . . perfect . . . than that?"

"You're sick."

"Sick? What do you know about it?" Althea's face twisted into an angry snarl, and she moved as if to strike the blonde goddess, if only the metal cage hadn't been between them.

Gabrielle's eyes narrowed. "What did you do? Before you became a crazy cult leader for Dahak, I mean."

Althea bellowed in rage. "What did I do? You want to know what I did?" Her voice was a scream now. "I used to be nothing! NOTHING! Just like you! Before Dahak, I had nothing! Just a stupid little family and a stupid little farm, with a bunch of stupid villagers who knew nothing about power, or glory, or –"

"Murder?" Gabrielle interjected.

Althea cooled off. Her voice became a hollow whisper. "Yes. Now that you mention it." She seemed to recall what she was supposed to be doing. "That's enough. Guards!" Two men entered the room. "Take her to the circle."

x x x

Callisto and Naughty Xena were making their way down a long, dark, deserted corridor. Xena obviously didn't want to be seen with her new companion. They finally made their way out of the castle through a secret door that led to the stables.

"Do you really think this is gonna work? 'Cause if it doesn't . . ." Xena waved a fist menacingly at the blonde woman.

Callisto looked determined. "It will. It has to."

x x x

Xena, Ares and Hercules were able to see more clearly now. The room was still dim, but they were able to make out the gray stone walls of an enormous room. No torches lined them, so the medallion still had to suffice as a light source. Finally, as they walked they spotted a rounded wooden door. Hercules stepped up to it first and tried the handle. It was unlocked, so they stepped through.

"That was easy," Hercules remarked.

"Yeah – just like walking into a trap," Xena muttered.

They found themselves in another room lined with gray stone, only this time, it was much smaller, and very well-lit. In one corner sat what appeared to be a throne with a man sitting on it. He was richly dressed, with dark brown hair and black, glittering eyes. His face was handsome, but cold. He stood up as they entered and clapped his hands together.

"Well, well. I'm very glad to have you as my guests. The famous – or should I say _infamous_ – Xena, Warrior Princess, Ares – god – oh, I'm so sorry, _ex_-god – of war, and Hercules, Zeus' son – my, how silly of me – _bastard_ son. It's been so long since I've had company. Of course, you must excuse me, I've been terrible busy this evening. But I always make time for such honored guests as yourselves." He smiled.

"Dahak." Xena hissed out the name.

"I see you know me? I'm flattered." The man gave a mocking bow.

"I'm sorry. I meant to _kill_ you!" Xena charged at the man, drawing the Dagger of Helios. He made no motion to evade her. Xena lunged forward and struck her weapon through his chest. Her eyes widened. The dagger had gone right through him, leaving him unharmed. He raised his arms in front of him, then pulled them out to the sides in a jerking motion. Xena shot back to her companions from an invisible jolt. A wind seemed to be gathering from around the sides of the room, and began to whirl around them, picking up speed.

"We can't kill him with these weapons, Xena! We've got to find something else!" Ares yelled.

Hercules bellowed, "Hera said the right weapon would present itself when the time came!"

Ares looked down at his chest. His medallion was glowing brightly now, pulsating faster. Suddenly, he grabbed the breast dagger from Hercules and tossed it to Xena, along with his medallion. Something in the look they exchanged indicated that she understood what he wanted her to do.

Hercules had decided to make another run at the man, if for no other reason than to buy them some time. _Dahak obviously isn't going to fool around for long._ He drew back his fist, ready to deliver a punch to the abdomen, and something unexpected happened. He made contact!

Dahak went flying backward onto his back. He looked stunned. "This isn't possible!" Then he regained his bravado. "Don't fool yourselves into thinking you have a chance. Bow down to me now, and I'll spare your pathetic mortal lives! Otherwise, your blood and the blood of your friends will bathe the earth when I come into my kingdom!"

Ares smiled determinedly as he and Xena rushed into the fight. "Blood runs hardest when love is involved."

x x x

As Gabrielle was being led from her prison, she could hear the chanting hit a crescendo. Even though she knew it to be useless, she pulled at her chains, never taking her eyes off the dark nimbus whirling around the high tower of the castle. Suddenly, the guards went flying as a force emanated from her being.

Looking down Gabrielle noticed the faint blue sparks leaving herself and gathering around her one by one until their brightness was too much. She lifted her hand to shield her eye only to hear the clank of metal as Hephaestus' handy work hit the floor.

"What in Zeus'..." she began as the Orbs of light circled her before heading towards the nimbus, where Dahak prepared to make his entrance.

x x x

"Do you think that just a few punches will save your world from me?" Dahak said as he roughly wiped the spittle off his lips. "Nothing can stop me!! I am DAHAK!!" He raised his hand, sending Hercules against another wall.

"A little help, here!!" Hercules yelled and looked toward his companions, only to gasp in amazement at what he saw happening.

"No!!!!!, " Dahak screamed, the sound resonating through the chambers as he witnessed the beginning of his demise. The orbs of light that had stripped the bard of her powers began to encircle the forms of The God of War and the Warrior Princess as they held the medallion between their joined hands.

"No, I will not let you!" he screamed, and threw a fireball at the force field surrounding the two. It only made the power wrapped around them go faster and faster as it grew brighter until finally the orbs shot through Xena's midsection and into Ares.

With a grin on his face Ares formed a bolt of lightening and saying, "Blood is thicker than water," he released the bolt, " and it runs deepest when love is involved"

x x x

Dahak shrieked as the crackling bolt buried itself in his chest and staggered erratically.

Ares turned to his companions and grinned triumphantly. "Hah!" he shouted over the gurgling screams, "how do you like—"

His victory speech was cut short by the impact of a fist to his side, sending him flying into a stone wall.

"Ares!" Xena turned to the crumpled figure, but a hard hand closed around her throat and lifted her off of the ground.

Dahak bared his teeth at her, his free hand lightly brushing his robes. "Just kidding," he drawled, "I can't count how many of those puny little bolts Zeus tossed at me before I killed him."

"Not—not possible," Ares huffed, using the wall to push himself up to his feet. "Zeus was killed by a mortal!"

Dahak shrugged. "The idiot came to my realm with some big plans to defeat me or something. Guess your rules don't work all the time." He nodded to Ares, as if in concern, "How are you liking that poison, by the way? I designed it. Perfect for annoying godlings. It's eating at your flesh as we speak. Can't feel half of your body anymore, can you?"

"Oh?" Ares smiled through tightly gritted teeth. "I feel great. The stuff's rejuvenating."

"Ahh," Dahak said, "You're using your powers to hold it back. Too bad you don't have enough coordination to remove that dart."

"Why…" Xena's voice was barely a croak, and her hand was white as she gripped Dahak's hand, preventing him from crushing her neck. When Dahak turned his attention to her, she continued. "—do all you evil bastards like—" she raised her hand, and the breast dagger glinted for a moment under the strong lights, "—this neck-grabbing thing so much!" She struck like a snake, the sharp point tearing into Dahak's cheek.

"Aagh!" Dahak screamed and dropped the warrior princess to clutch at this face.

"Hercules!" Xena yelled hoarsely at the demigod, who was getting to his feet, shaking his head to rid his vision of the fuzziness that Dahak's last blow before he'd been hit by Ares' bolt had created. He looked up and quickly began to head toward Xena.

"No, help Ares!"

"But—" He protested.

"Now!"

Satisfied that Hercules was following her orders, Xena doubled Dahak over with a hard kick to the stomach and raised her sword, ready to slice through his exposed neck.

"Wait!" Dahak flung out a hand and lifted his head.

Xena froze in surprise.

It was Ares' face, looking up at her with blood dripping out of a ragged wound on his cheek.

_The idiot thinks he can trick me just by using Ares' face_, Xena thought contemptuously as she rolled her eyes and raised her sword again. Suddenly, some hard pressure settled on her shoulders, and the room seemed to spin wildly and blur while the figure in front of her filled in and became increasingly solid.

"Xena," it said mournfully.

She narrowed her eyes, confused. It was hard to think.

"I trusted you, Xena. I thought you cared about me."

She lowered her sword uncertainly as the form straightened up. She heard Ares' voice coming from Ares' mouth. Ares' eyes. Fragments of thoughts appeared and disappeared as quickly as sparks.

"I loved you, Xena. Did you know that? That's why I came to you."

Ares' shape stepped closer to her. "I came to you because I needed you. I loved you."

"Ares?" Her tongue felt huge and clumsy in her mouth, and she fought to remain standing.

"Are you going to kill me, Xena? Don't you love me?"

"I—I…"

He was right in front of her now, and he took her hand in his, leaning forward so that his lips were close to hers. Warm. Her eyes threatened to close.

"Let's forget about Dahak and go back. I don't need to be a god. I want to spend my life, live, be with you… I would rather die in your arms than live forever without—Ugh!"

The shape sprouted a dagger hilt in its temple, and Ares' voice sliced through the wool in her head.

"Snap out of it!"

Xena watched 'Ares'' body fall to the floor, then looked at the blood that trickled off her fingertips.

"I'm right here, Xena!"

She saw Dahak's head flop to the side as he lay on the stone floor.

Shaking, Xena drew in deep breaths. The fresh air seemed so sweet after the pressure. She turned her head to look at Ares, who was standing, leaning heavily on Hercules and looking at her anxiously, and offered him a weak smile. She opened her mouth.

A blast of heat from behind her blew her hair up and into her face to flap wildly.

Whipping around, she watched as the crack that had appeared in Dahak's head near the dagger widened, and flames shot out into the air.

Cracks sped along the fallen body until it looked as if it was covered by a blazing net, and then it shattered like pottery. An enormous pillar of flame rose out of the shards, bellowing like a foghorn. Behind it, the floor trembled and buckled until a gaping hole broke open, red with heat and flame that licked up its sides. Streamers of fire erupted from the shape and whipped toward her.

Diving into a somersault, Xena let out a yell of frustration. "Why don't you ever _stay dead_?"

It roared and renewed its attack.

Xena dodged the flame whips, her face set with concentration. There were too many of them. A glancing blow caused her to hiss and a patch of skin on her arm to sizzle disgustingly.

Ares grabbed Hercules's arm when he tried to jump into the fight.

"What in Tartarus are you doing? She needs help!"

"She's much better at dodging those things than you will ever be. You'd just slow her down," Ares snarled back. "If you want to help, look!" He held up the blazing medallion. "I figured out how this thing works."

"I thought we—"

"Our love for each other? Forget it. Look, it's working now, and I don't feel any sort of _affection_," he spat out the word as if it were a curse, "for you. Twins are so close that they're like the same person right? They share everything. This thing's power isn't unlocked by our love for each other, but by what we share: our love for _her_."

Hercules began to sputter, "_Love? You? Xe—_"

Ares held his fist in his half-brother's face, threatening to punch him again. "We don't have time for this. _Look_ at her! She's hurt! If it hits her anymore, she'll slow down, so hold this," he raised the medallion, "with me, and focus on her! Don't let her be hurt!"

Hercules touched the golden disc, and it shone so brightly that he had to avert his eyes. He turned to look at Xena, seeing her move faster, her sword a blur as she slashed at the flaming god whenever a chance was offered. _Focus on her_.

Her chilling war cry rang through the air as she began to beat Dahak back.

He nearly dropped the disc when the door beside him slammed open. Gabrielle stumbled through, caught her balance, and raised a hand to her mouth in horror.

Ares' arm shot out and pulled Gabrielle over to the two brothers. "Help us," he said. "This thing makes Xena stronger against Dahak."

Gabrielle noticed that he was leaning on Hercules's arm and holding his side. "You're hurt—"

"It uses love against hatred," Ares interrupted. "You love her, too. Touch it and will her to be stronger."

Determination filling her eyes, Gabrielle nodded, placed her hand next to his, and turned her face to Xena.

Brilliant sparks of blue, green, and yellow coruscated along the length of her sword. Xena glanced at it, feeling power pour into her.

A wide, feral smile on her face, she dove in between the now snail-slow whips, grasped the humming hilt with both hands, and thrust it deep into the heart of the flame.

Ear-splitting squeals filled the air. Dahak staggered, tongues of fire writhing in agony. They shriveled and winked out, leaving a fire-blackened, emaciated human form clutching at the gaping wound in his chest.

Xena frowned as she watched him double over and hack up thick clumps of blood. "You're Dahak?" she said.

Black stumps in a cracked, bleeding mouth formed a smile. "What?" He croaked. "Not what you were expecting? Having that one over there for your _pet_," bloody spittle sprayed, "shouldn't make you forget what petty, cruel bastards immortals are." He thrust his hips suddenly, hoarse laughter accompanying the vulgar gesture. "Like what you see? I was beautiful, beautiful as _him,_" he pointed at Ares again, venom in every move, "and Chronos cursed me because Rhea loved me. Cursed me with immortality and fire. I'll _eat_ him," Dahak snarled. "I'll rip out his guts and drink his brains!"

"Chronos is dead."

Dahak laughed until blood choked him. "I know. Bastard didn't even give me the pleasure of killing him. I'm going to kill his children. I'm going to dismember the Olympians, one by one, and then when they're in pieces, I'll drain their creations of blood. Every animal, every human, _everything!_ I'll drink their blood until I'm alone in a black, empty world, and then I will _laugh._"

Slowly, Althea walked through the open door towards the small, black body. "What about me?" she said in a small voice. "You promised that I would never be lonely again for all the slaves fighting to serve me."

There was another gurgling laugh, and a sandpaper-like whisper, "I'll kill them all…" He reached out and grasped a handful of Althea's hair. She screamed in pain and clawed at the flaking arm.

"Dahak," Xena said sharply.

He looked up as she leapt, blade held horizontally. It bit deep into his throat, releasing a torrent of black, congealing blood. His head separated slowly from his torso while he toppled over backward into the flaming pit at his feet, and his flailing hand caught Xena's sword arm.

Althea screamed again as she fell with Dahak and Xena, disappearing quickly over the edge.

"_Xena!_" Ares rushed to the lip of the pit and leaned over as far as he could. Rolling flames spluttered and receded while he watched until the yawning abyss was cold and black.

It was so empty. He swallowed, disbelief and raw, thudding pain tearing at his insides.

"It's always a damned lava pit." A ghostly whisper drifted from the darkness, echoing slightly.

He drew in a sharp breath. "Xena?" he said quietly, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, the dream would end.

He started when a sooty hand shot out and closed around his gauntlet.

Xena hauled her torso up over the edge, blew her bangs out of her eyes, and said, "Yeah?"


	11. Chapter 11

Rebel Joxer wiped the sweat off his brow, only dropping his guard for a moment. The battle was raging all around them, with the followers of Dahak pressing them close. The leader knew that he had to keep the heat off Xena and her friends, wherever they were now. He raised the hilt of his sword and brought it down with a thud on the forehead of one particularly large man, who went whirling to the ground.

His look-alike, the other Joxer, was nearby, holding out his sword for protection. He had plenty of help from the rebel fighters, who had crashed the sacrificial ceremony and were working to free those who about to be killed in the name of Dahak. The bonfire was still licking the sky with its enormous orange flames, stretching up to the funnel of dark clouds that moved directly above. It was as if the two elements were grasping for each other.

Suddenly, the two Joxers saw Althea approaching. Behind her came two men carrying a metal cage with a person inside it. Althea's entourage was cutting a path through the fighting, and they were moving toward the center of the circle. The two men began to be able to see through the cage and make out the figure inside. It was Gabrielle.

Joxer, seeing the woman he loved was in danger, ran through the skirmish toward her. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew that he had to save Gabrielle at all costs. The rebel leader saw him go and tried to stop him by crying out, but it was no use.

Joxer made his way through the zombie-like crowd. He was close enough to see her face clearly now through the metal cage. In the next moment, he felt the earth around him shaking, and saw that shards of blue and green light were surrounding the blonde bard-turned-goddess. "Gabrielle!" He charged forward, heedless of the danger, and deathly afraid of what was happening. In an instant, the glowing faded, and he saw Gabrielle push the metal cage away. She was free.

Just then, Althea, who had turned at the sudden shaking, screamed like a fury and lunged at Gabrielle. Joxer tried to come between the two of them, but it was too late. He watched as both of them were swept up into the swirling mass of clouds and disappeared.

Joxer felt something cold and hard hit the back of his neck just before he fell to the ground.

x x x

Callisto and Naughty Xena made their way through the woods. "Hey, why didn't ya tell me we'd be hiking? My feet are killing me!"

"Quiet, we're almost there."

"You'd better be right about this."

"Relax. I can feel its power as we speak."

They walked on for some minutes, winding through the forest until Naughty Xena was utterly lost. Finally, they came to what appeared to be an abandoned stone temple, overgrown with vines and moss.

Naughty Xena nearly tripped over an old sundial that was just slightly raised from the ground. She suddenly began to feel very frightened. Where was this wacko taking her?

They came to a circular incision in the rock. It seemed as if it were waiting for something to be placed there. Callisto motioned for Naughty Xena to come forward. She held out a shiny object for her – her own jewel-encrusted chakram. "As the true owner of the chakram, only you can use the key to open this door." Xena, following the blonde woman's indications, lifted the metal ring and fitted it into the cut-out in the stone. It fit snugly with a 'click' into the door.

"Now we may enter in safety." Callisto pointed to the entrance, which was still covered by a stone slab.

It took both of them to push aside the ancient stone door to the temple. The inside was very dimly lit through small cracks in the crumbling rock.

"After you." Naughty Xena chuckled, trying to sound calm, but not succeeding.

"It's in here. I – wait! There it is!" Callisto pointed to a faint green glow over in one corner of the temple.

"It's mine! Ha ha! Come to Mama!" Naughty Xena, prompted by a sudden surge of greed, raced incautiously through the dark, deserted temple. She reached out her hand to touch the green stone that was propped up on a musty, moth-eaten pillow. Strangely, the gem had collected no dust.

"You've got it! Yes, that's it - careful! Bring it here! We can still stop Althea!" Callisto beckoned her companion to bring the stone over to where she still stood just inside the temple door.

Naughty Xena's eyes narrowed to slits, though Callisto couldn't see them through the darkness. "Oh, I'll stop her – and everyone else!"

"No!! You don't know what you're doing! You have to give it to me, or you could ruin everything!" Callisto's eyes widened in alarm.

"Baby, you have no idea what I'm gonna do now!" Naughty Xena's eyes sparkled in the dim light. She stepped forward, placing one hand directly under the stone, and one palm on the pointed top of it.

"NOOOOO!!!" Callisto ran forward, trying to grab the gem away from her. But she didn't make it more than a few paces before she was frozen in place.

Naughty Xena was shocked for a moment at the effect of the stone on the other woman. Then she smiled to herself, patting the Chronos Stone gingerly. "Let's you and me get out of this place, whaddaya say? We've got work to do."

x x x

The swirling vortex that composed Dahak's realm was splitting apart like an old wineskin at the death of its master. The old temple walls began to shake, the cracks in the floor widening.

Xena gasped, still sooty but thankfully on her feet, as she jumped out of the way of a large crack spreading out along the floor. Soon there would be nothing _but_ the lava pit. She looked up at Ares, eyes still questioning.

With a smirk, Ares pulled her towards the others, not letting go of her for a moment. "Let's get out of here." And, if his voice wasn't as firm as usual, Xena wasn't going to say anything.

Both of them still slightly injured, they hurried over to Gabrielle and Hercules, who were nervously dodging the pits of flame springing up, and looking a little worn themselves.

Watching the walls split apart, Hercules cried, "This place is falling to pieces!"

Without a second thought, Ares reached out his spare arm, grabbing Gabrielle's hand. He nodded at her and Gabrielle grabbed Hercules in turn, understanding.

There was a _pop_ and flashes of light as the entire structure fell in on itself.

x x x

Ares, Xena, Gabrielle and Hercules reappeared on the ground just in time to watch flashes of light break through the funnel of dark clouds until it disappeared entirely with a wink of light and roar that seemed to echo through the quiet field.

Gabrielle took a shaky breath, looking at the others, "That was close."

But her companions were no longer staring at the blue sky where, only a moment before, nothing but fire and darkness had reigned. They were looking around them, startled.

They were in the midst of a battle, the one between Rebel Joxer's forces and Dahak's converts, the one to buy them time. And that battle was frozen in place.

Shocked, Gabrielle reached out to touch a rebel near her, just about to have his head chopped off. His body was stopped. Gently, Gabrielle pushed him out of the way of the oncoming blade, but all remained still. "What could do this?"

Hercules and Ares looked at each other darkly, "The Chronos Stone."

x x x

The naughtier Xena, still clutching the Chronos Stone in one hand and her chakram in the other, was just making her way out of the forest. Callisto had led her through such a winding and twisting path that Naughty Xena was amazed she'd managed to find her way out at all.

"Serves that bitch right," Naughty Xena smirked, remembering how the doors had slid firmly shut once she'd reclaimed her chakram off the altar.

By blind luck, Naughty Xena had managed to make her way back to the castle. It was eerily quiet. But no matter. Priding herself on a job well done and a new treasure collected, she snuck back into her own abode much the same way that she had snuck Callisto out.

_The battle must be over,_ this Xena reasoned, hoping that Althea or the others hadn't turned her home inside out.

When she walked in, however, tiptoeing past the guardrooms, Xena found that everyone was frozen - exactly like Callisto. "Ooh," the vixen Xena purred, "This could be interesting."

Caught up in her examination of the guards - moving them into lewd positions or switching their clothes with that of the staff - Naughty Xena failed to notice the four figures moving cautiously amongst the stopped battle that had spread out below, picking their way toward the castle.

x x x

"It had to be her." Xena's eyes were narrowed, her face still smudgy and her leathers blackened.

Ares was tempted to offer to do something about Xena's charcoal, but he wasn't sure that it would be appreciated. Instead, he sighed, "Xena, I know you have many skills. But, next time, could you use one of them to give your alter-ego some common sense?"

A voice interrupted Xena's glare, "Joxer!"

Xena, Ares and Hercules, who was marching determinedly in front of them, turned at the sound of Gabrielle's voice. She was bent in front of a crudely constructed platform, over Joxer's fallen form - shielding him from an oncoming blow that would never reach its target.

"Well how 'bout that - must have mistaken him for this world's Joxer." Ares' voice was more amused than anything.

Shaking her head at him, Xena rushed over with Hercules, to help Gabrielle pull Joxer to safety - frozen weight was a lot heavier than any of them would have expected. Unfortunately, it was hard to determine where, exactly, a safe place was to be found.

With a long-suffering sigh, Ares stopped the others, who were all feeling significantly less fatigued now that they were out of Dahak's realm, and grabbed Joxer's prone body, throwing it over his good shoulder. The effects from Dahak's poison were lessening, and Ares was almost back to 100.

The others stared at him. "What?" Ares shrugged, "Not like we can leave him here. The idiot will get his head chopped off and, really, there's been enough of that today."

In mild disbelief, Hercules and Gabrielle turned to continue their journey. However, Xena flashed Ares a little smile before she followed suit - enough to convince Ares that, even if he had to drag Joxer around half this universe, it would be worth it.

Maybe not everything Dahak had said and done would turn out for the worst.

x x x

The alternate realm's Xena held the conical glowing green gem out on her flat palm. She was sitting in the throne room of the palace, now occupying the throne all by herself. She looked thoughtfully into the sparks of green-gold that seemed to be whirling inside of the stone, as if they were alive. "Such a pretty new toy for me to play with, aren't you? But its obvious you've got some kind of magical powers. Everybody else in the kingdom is frozen like ice, and I can do whatever I want . . . but I'm getting tired of having to fetch things for myself. What's the good in being a queen . . . no, empress! . . . without servants?"

In another moment, she was startled by the gleam of rust-colored sparks. She nearly dropped her new plaything as a god, clad in dark brown leather with gold details, materialized before her eyes.

Naughty Xena gulped noisily. "Uh, hello. What can I do ya for?"

The god, whose blond hair and dark eyes she took in in an instant, glowered at her. Then he unfolded the wings that were attached to his back, and she knew instantly who he was. "Cupid, God of War. You must be Xena."

"Ye-yeah, that's me." She tried to look unfazed, but didn't succeed. _Geez, and here I thought I had the place to myself!_

"Charmed, I'm sure." Cupid nodded at her, smiling deviously. "I see you found my jewel. I've come to ask for it back. For a handsome reward, of course."

Naughty Xena's left eyebrow raised suspiciously, but she said nothing.

"You see, I must have it back; though it's powers are quite . . . weak, it has great sentimental value for my family. So you see, I am willing to pay very well for its return."

"Gee, I dunno. I kinda had my heart set on keepin' it. It's real pretty, dontcha think?" Vixen Xena returned innocently.

"Ye-es . . . it _is_ very beautiful. But not nearly as beautiful as you, my dear." Cupid approached the throne where Vixen Xena still sat, placing one hand on her leg. "You know, I could use someone like you in my service."

Vixen Xena twisted her neck and blinked at him coquettishly. "What'd you have in mind?"

"You give me the jewel, and you can be my high priestess."

"High priestess? Me? I think you got the wrong gal."

"Oh, I think you'd be perfect – unless you're afraid of . . . working . . . with the God of War?" Cupid's eyes challenged her to accept.

"Seems pretty powerful to me."

"Excuse me?"

"The rock. Seems pretty powerful to me. Everybody in the kingdom is frozen except me."

"What a clever woman you are." Cupid's tone dropped to a seductive whisper. "But just think how powerful it could be in the hands of a god . . . think of what we could do with it . . . together."

Naughty Xena leaned her head down to touch his. "So let me get this straight. I give you your family jewel back, and you and I can . . . rule the world together?"

"Exactly." Cupid delivered the word with relish.

"No dice," Naughty Xena said, flatly. Cupid looked momentarily deflated. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Trust me? I'm the God of War! And I never go back on a promise . . . not to a woman like you, anyway."

"Not good enough."

"No? Then why don't we talk about it some more – over breakfast." Cupid snapped his fingers, and Xena found herself in one of the more lavish bedrooms of the castle. She realized the stone was still in her hand, and she set it on the nightstand, away from his reach. Cupid leaned in for a kiss, and she returned it forcefully.

x x x

"This place gives me the creeps." Gabrielle and the others were walking through the woods around the edge of the castle; it was beginning to get dark. "Are you sure we have to go this way?"

"Yes – _whoever_ has the Chronos Stone may be watching from the palace, and we definitely need the element of surprise this time," Xena answered, her face grim.

After some short distance, the group approached the outer castle wall. There seemed to be no entrance this way. "Guess we'll have to try the direct approach," Ares said, swinging Joxer like a sword to indicate his idea of the "direct approach." Then he realized what he was doing. "Uh, sorry."

Xena shook her head at his antics, then replied, "No, maybe not. Most castles have a secret back entrance, you just have to know where to look."

Just then, Gabrielle, walking in front, tripped and fell face-forward. "Owww! Maybe being a goddess wasn't so bad after all," she spoke, standing up and rubbing her sore face. "At least it was padded by the moss," she finished, after gathering that nothing was actually broken.

"Wait." Xena had signaled to the others to stop, and she stood looking down at the place where Gabrielle had tripped. "I think you just found our secret entrance."

x x x

Cupid lay on his back next to Naughty Xena, who was sleeping on her side with the Chronos Stone tucked securely into her bosom. He thought about what the Fates had told him that day when Zeus had been murdered.

_Atropos, apparently the most chatty one of the group, held out a thread as she spoke. "Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods, is dead at the hands of a mortal. His death has triggered the fall of the Olympian order. The mortal who killed Zeus is the mortal who will destroy you all, yet she will come in a different form. She will conquer time and death itself will have no control over her. It is through her body that the Twilight will come to fulfillment."_

_"Lachesis," Cupid spoke, addressing the middle fate, letting the words drip like honey from his tongue, "what's she talking about? You know how I hate riddles. I'd rather hear the bad news from you, anyway." He caressed her cheek._

_Lachesis looked up at the god of war disinterestedly, completely ignoring his touch. "The course of Fate has already been set in motion. The Twilight is upon you. Make of it what you will."_

Cupid shook himself out of his reverie, glancing over at the woman who had killed his grandfather. He almost wanted to thank her for getting rid of the old codger, but knew that, if she wasn't stopped, she would be the cause of his death, as well.

Naughty Xena mumbled something in her sleep, then chewed on the end of her thumb like a child, clutching the Chronos Stone tighter.

A glint of metal reflected light from the one candle that was still lit in the dark chamber. The piece of cold steel slid out from under the satin sheets and Cupid held it up in front of his face, as if meditating on what was to come next..

x x x

"Ugh. I think I just stepped on a cockroach." Gabrielle was groping her way through the underground passage.

"I don't even wanna _know_ what I just stepped on," Ares quipped, raising his godly eyebrow in disgust.

"Well, at least sneaking around in here is fairly easy," Hercules remarked. "We don't have to worry about castle guards and alarm bells."

"Since when has that ever bothered you?" Xena jokingly replied.

"Since he – whoooaaaa!" Ares was interrupted from his snarky comment by a body that had suddenly begun flailing wildly. Joxer had come back into motion, still attempting to dodge blows in the battle. Ares, acting on reflex, dropped the confused man on the floor with a thud.

"Ooowww!! What was that for? And where am I?" The first thing that he locked his eyes on was the image of Gabrielle, who looked honestly relieved to see her friend restored to animation.

"You're safe. Dahak is gone. We're in the palace dungeon. Xena . . . the other Xena . . . stole the Chronos Stone and stopped time, and we're going to get it back. Only . . . I guess time hasn't stopped anymore, because . . ." she looked at him pointedly.

Joxer nodded, half-comprehendingly, still very confused at his sudden change in location. "So what does that mean?"

Xena answered him, "It means we have to get the Chronos Stone _and_ worry about running into castle guards."

x x x

Cupid stared into the shiny polished silver surface, seeing his own green eyes gazing confusedly back at him. _This is the only way. She's going to be the death of us all. You have to do this._

At that moment, Vixen Xena stirred, half-waking, unsure of her whereabouts. Cupid quickly slipped the dagger into one of his gauntlets, which had been ripped off and tossed carelessly aside during the frenzy of the previous hours. _There's got to be another way._

"Whatcha doin'?" the groggy brunette inquired, slightly suspicious.

"Me? Oh, just . . . watching you sleep. You mortals sleep so . . . peacefully." Cupid would not look at her face.

"You're kinda weird, you know that?"

Cupid smiled, unable to help himself, and chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose I am. But you're a little strange, yourself, you know." Now he kissed her cheek awkwardly, but somehow affectionately, and then pulled quickly away, staring back into the dark room, anywhere but on that lovely face with the wide blue eyes lashed with silky black.

"You still want this thing, I guess."

"I _would_ like to have it back, yes. There's something I need to do." Cupid replied grimly.

"Then you're gonna have to pry it from me," Naughty Xena countered playfully, suddenly running her long red nails across his naked back, tickling his wings.

Cupid whipped around suddenly, grabbing one of her wrists in one hand and the Chronos Stone in the other. Vixen Xena kept a death-grip on her precious gem, biting and kicking at Cupid at full force. They rolled around on the bed, causing as much noise as humanly (or godly) possible. At first, they didn't notice anything; then they heard sounds coming from the hall; castle guards! Time had begun ticking away again. Their fight continued, both of them heedless to the confused cries from the guards outside.

After several minutes of this skirmish had passed, a green glow enshrouded the fighting couple, and they vanished.

x x x

Xena, Gabrielle, Ares, Hercules and Joxer made their way up out of the dungeon and into the main hall of the castle where the bedrooms were situated. They were drawn to the sound of what seemed to be two very large cats tearing each other (and the furnishings) to pieces in one of the rooms.

Hercules and Ares, going in front, knocked out the group of guards who came running at them. Gabrielle did a quick check on Joxer's wounds from the battle in the better light of the hallway. Xena did a running kick to the door and landed inside the dark room. Only the room didn't stay dark for long; a greenish glow spread into all corners and for one second she could see the alternate version of herself wrestling fiercely with someone who looked like just like Cupid, God of Love. She almost thought she had imagined it, because in another moment, they were gone and the room was black except for the light of one candle which had managed not to get knocked over in the struggle.

x x x

"Great."

Xena examined the room quickly and found some brown leather gauntlets trimmed with gold, a silver dagger, an ornate golden bow and a quiver full of arrows, all with black shafts and gold tips.

"What in Gaia's name? Xena, what was that green light? The Chronos Stone? Or another god?" Gabrielle looked worried.

Hercules and Ares walked into the room. The half-god spoke. "It was the Chronos Stone. Whoever was touching it has probably been sent back in time . . . or maybe even forward."

"Then there's nothing we can do about it." Xena looked at Ares. "Is there?"

Ares was also concerned, especially knowing that if this other Xena were to be killed, his favorite warrior princess would also be gone forever. "Maybe. I don't know. I need to think."

"We –" Xena began to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by a huge crash of lightning outside. The wind began to howl ferociously. "What I was going to say was that –" Ares, noticing something out the window, grabbed her wrist and yanked her out into the hallway, yelling for the others to follow – and fast.

Ares led them all outside, where it was clear that a storm was gathering. It almost seemed unnatural. A strange horizontal funnel of clouds was beginning to form in the big field next to where the fighting between Dahak's followers and the rebels had been taking place. The fight seemed to be over now that the people were no longer under Dahak's control, and the people were now tending to the wounded, with Rebel Joxer shouting orders, directing and organizing the work.

Ares let go of Xena's wrist and stepped over toward the swirling purple vortex. He seemed to be waiting for something . . . or someone.

A few seconds later, Hercules was running toward the vortex, a gigantic grin on his face. "How is this possible?" He approached the old man and wrapped his huge arms around him. Luckily for the old man, he was really a full god.

Ares' face didn't show surprise anymore, just curiosity. "How'd you do it, Dad? I guess you're not so easy to kill after all, huh?" 

"Zeus?" Gabrielle's face registered the surprise.

Zeus gave a loud, low, bellowing laugh. "Kind of strange outfit you're wearing, isn't it, son?" He winked at Ares. "I've never seen you wear black before. But I suppose you're from that alternate dimension I've been hearing so much about. Welcome. And to answer your question, I suppose you could say it's hard to get me to stay dead." He laughed again.

The king of the gods stepped aside, and two more figures appeared in the vortex.

Cupid and the slightly more mischievous version of Xena stepped through the portal and onto the grass. They were holding hands, and she was dressed in new robes, a rich black velvet trimmed with silver.

Zeus spoke again. "I'd like you all to meet my grandson, Cupid, god of war, and my new granddaughter-in-law, Xena, the Warrior Princess."

Gabrielle and Joxer helped Hercules pick up his jaw from the ground.

x x x

"So you went back in time to save Zeus from being killed and to stop the Twilight prophecy from being fulfilled?" Gabrielle tried to sum up the fantastic story that Cupid and his new bride, Xena, had been telling them around the sumptuous feast being held in honor of the visitors from the other realm.

"That's right. We explained everything that had been happening in the future and how Xena here," he hugged his wife tightly, "managed to find the Chronos Stone –"

"– and fix my little boo-boo." Vixen Xena's eyes glittered, and she gave a wink to her new grandfather-in-law.

Zeus smiled rather awkwardly at her. "Not to worry, my dear, everything has been put to rights again. And," he said, turning to the other Xena, "we owe you and your friends here a debt of gratitude. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you."

Xena nodded and smiled in acknowledgement. "So what happens to this kingdom? Who will be their leader?" Xena asked.

Callisto, who had fortunately been able to free herself from the cave, spoke up. "I think we already have a leader among us," she said, beaming, and pointed her gaze toward Joxer, the rebel leader. "If you would be so kind as to take the job."

Joxer bowed his head graciously. "I will accept the position if the people will it."

"Well, of course they will!" Callisto replied boisterously. "They know you're their rightful king. Lead them!"

"We shall let them decide, then!" Joxer smiled, raising his cup in the air. "To a new beginning!"

"I'll drink to that," Ares said, slipping his hand into Xena's.

x x x

"So," Xena said, eyes narrowed at her look-alike, "What's with the sudden change of heart? Last I saw you, you were..." She trailed off, noticing the frantic "nix" gestures Cupid was making over his wife's head. "... were completely set on the, er, Sovereign."

"Well, he had nothing on Cupie." The answer was accompanied by an adoring glance at Cupid, who lowered his hands hurriedly and held his arms stiffly by his sides as he smiled back.

"Ahh," Xena muttered. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" She snagged Cupid's arm and dragged him out of earshot.

"Alright, what did you do?"

"I'm a god," Cupid said with a bemused smirk. "I do have certain . . . persuasive powers. It wasn't that difficult to convince her to become my wife, at least, not after I told her she'd be a goddess. Oh, and did I mention I'm incredibly handsome?" He gave Xena his most rakish look. 

Xena gave him a look of mock-disgust. "You're just like Ares," she said finally.

"God of _Love_?" Cupid asked, giving the word the same loathing overtones as he would the word "tapeworm."

"_My_ Ares."

Cupid gave her an amused look, and her face heated slightly when she realized what she'd just said. "Anyway," she said. "Why didn't you go back further? Stop Dahak in Britannia, right at the beginning?"

"He would have come out another way, implanted his seed in another girl."

"But not Gabrielle."

There was a pause, and Ares' voice said softly behind her, "Is that what you really want? Condemn an innocent because she's faceless?"

Xena refused to let her voice shake. "Gabrielle would say no."

Ares watched Xena silently, barely acknowledging Cupid when he slipped away.

"You know how dangerous it would be to use the Chronos Stone. Zeus has had it locked away again in a new location."

"Gods! You can really be infuriating sometimes. Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you enjoy my divine company?" He grinned under her sardonic look. 

"Still, I know if I just had the chance, Gabrielle would never have to know, and . . ."

"No." He leaned forward and kissed her.

_I'd take all your burdens if I could._

x x x

A comforting hand fell on his shoulder as he stared across the room, making him look up in surprise.

"When _he_ was born, the Morae fortold of a mortal that would carry with her the love of Zeus' sons, The Darkness and The Light. Both would give her purpose, but in the end, she would shape both by turning Darkness into Light." Hera finished as she sat next to Hercules.

"So you're saying that Xena belongs to him," Hercules asked this strange version of his stepmother.

She smiled and shook her head, confusing him. "She doesn't _b__elong_ to anyone. Only to herself, but what I am trying to say is that your love for her will never go unnoticed because it helped create the woman she is, just as much as Ares'. Neither of you will ever forget that and you should not mourn her because she will never be lost ." 

"How do you know? He's not your Ares, and the Xena of this world is married to Cupid, your _g__randson_, not son. In my world he'd destroy her." He finished angrily.

"They are from your reality, yet I have not seen him destroy her," Hera answered, expertly evading the first question, "in every world it will be the same, Hercules. Just look what it accomplished, you and Ares helped save the Cosmos with the love you share for a mortal."

Hercules stared speechlessly at Hera for a long moment. "You're so different," he said finally, with a bitter laugh. "Goddess of music, huh?" He sighed and gave Ares a distasteful look. "Well, I guess--"

Whatever Hercules would have said next was cut off by a thunderous explosion and the opening of a huge vortex behind him. He turned, shielding his eyes from the gale.

"Iolaus?" he yelled.

"Hey, Herc! Zeus was suddenly swearing pretty well for a dead guy, so we figured you guys fixed everything over here, and he opened up this portal for us!"

"Zeus is alive?"

"Like I said, he was threatening to do all kinds of things to Dahak."

A hand pulled Hercules to a side an instant before a branch whipped past his head and sailed into the portal.

"You'll have time to catch flies afterwards, so," Xena let go of his arm and turned to give Gabrielle a fond smile, "let's go home."

x x x

Ares landed with a grunt when the portal spat him out and winked out of existence.

"Is everyone okay?" someone asked.

There were a couple of 'yes's, a grunt, some spitting noises, and a whimper, presumably from Joxer, who had landed in severely contorted position.

After the companions had gotten to their feet and untangled Joxer, Xena looked around and frowned. "Where's Callisto?"

"She doesn't belong here, remember?" Gabrielle said gently.

"Oh," Xena said softly. "We didn't say goodbye." The familiar look of guilt was in her eyes.

"I'm sure she's happy, Xena."

"Yeah."

"Hey," Ares said. He waited until Xena looked at him, and then he grinned. "We won."

She smiled this time. "Yeah."

"Not your average, everyday apocalypse, was it?"

Xena laughed. "It turned out okay, considering."

Hercules watched, a bitter taste in his mouth. He cleared his throat and made his excuses awkwardly into the silence.

He raised a hand, and Xena stepped into his hug. "It was good to see you again."

"Maybe next time it won't take a world-threatening disaster for me to hear from you."

She laughed. "Count on it."

"You know," Hercules muttered, "I don't like him."

"I know."

"But I trust your judgment."

"Thanks."

"If he so much as twitches in an offensive way, you can call me in."

Ares snorted and received a dirty look.

"Please do, in fact."

x x x

Hercules and Iolaus walked down the road, kicking up small clouds of dust in their wake.

Hercules stretched and yawned loudly. "It's good to be home. Even the air smells better here."

"Really..."

"Shouldn't you be happy to see me after all this time or something?"

"Oh yeah. Nothing like the scent of fresh flowers by the roadside, some road kill over there--"

"Iolaus--"

"--that pile of horse dung that you're about to step into."

"Iolaus..."

"Yeah?"

"Good to see you, too."

x x x

Joxer strode jauntily away, whistling his song before he tripped over a root in the path.

Gabrielle sighed in exasperation, turning her back pointedly to Joxer's startled cry. "So," she said, a smirk working its way onto her face, "I guess I'll see you later."

Xena suddenly seemed to find a twig on the ground fascinating. "Well," she said, prodding at it with her toe, "what with preventing the end of the world as we know it, it's been a bit busy. We haven't had a chance to... talk."

"Talk. I see."

"Gabrielle..."

"No, no. I get it. You're going to," she paused, a full grin on her face now, "talk."

Gabrielle slung her bag over her shoulder and dug out a quill and a scroll. She waved casually as she turned and walked away. "I'll see you in the morning, Xena."

"So," Ares said eventually, "dinner?"

"Ares."

"Yeah?"

He looked the same as ever.

Strong. It was strangely comforting.

It felt good when he melted under her kiss. Warm.

_You did good._


End file.
